Upping the Ante
by Fanatical Writer
Summary: When Penelope and Emily make a bet to see who can get some action first, the entire BAU is abuzz. And Morgan and Reid aren't taking the news well. Morgan/Garcia and Prentiss/Reid
1. Prologue

_Author's Note: FYI-this is going to end up with Prentiss/Reid as a secondary couple. Enjoy!_

Penelope Garcia picked up her glass of wine and took a sip. "Don't you think it's pathetic that you're out with _me_ on a Friday night?" she asked her friend, spooling her pasta around her fork and taking a bite.

Emily Prentiss laughed. "I wasn't going to say it out _loud_," she joked,

"Wouldn't you rather be out with someone who was gonna…take you home and ravish you?" Penelope asked longingly.

"Of course I would," Emily answered. "But unfortunately, _that's_ not gonna happen." She took a bite of her salad and chewed thoughtfully. "I _wish_ I had time to date."

"Yeah. Me, too," Penelope agreed. "I just…I'm sick of going home to a _vibrator. _"

Emily choked on her water. "What?" she asked.

"Oh, like you don't go home to one," Penelope spat.

Emily's eyes danced. "I don't go home to _one_," she said.

Penelope laughed as she took another bite of her pasta and washed it down with a swallow of wine. Then she put her fork down beside her plate and grinned at her friend. "What do you say we make it interesting?"

"What do you mean?" Emily asked curiously.

"Let's make it a bet."

"Make _what_ a bet?"

Penelope grinned. "Getting naughty."

Emily laughed heartily, and then stopped when Penelope just sat there. "Are you serious?"

"Yes, Emily. I'm serious," Penelope said impatiently. "Apparently neither one of us is willing to push ourselves into the dating pool. So maybe a little healthy competition will toss us right in."

Emily frowned. "Shouldn't we get our feet wet first?" she asked.

Penelope grinned. "That's a great idea. Five dates," she said with a nod. "That should be enough to get our feet wet."

"I am so confused right now."

"We have to…find a man, date him, and go out with him…" Penelope thought for a minute. "_Five_ times before we can sleep with him."

Emily frowned. "I don't know if I can do that," she admitted.

"Men objectify us all the time," Penelope reminded her friend. "Wouldn't ya like to give it back to them?"

"Absolutely," Emily said, and then smirked. "I just don't know if I can hold out for five dates."

Penelope laughed. "That's to make it interesting. Either one of us could go to a bar, pick up a man, and bring him home. But keeping his interest for five dates? Now _that's_ a challenge."

"You have a point there, my friend."

"So? What do you say? Are we on?" Penelope asked.

Emily grinned. "What are we betting?"

Penelope shrugged. "I want that diamond bracelet of yours," she said nonchalantly.

"Absolutely not," Prentiss said primly. "That was a gift."

"From your ex-husband," Penelope reminded her friend.

Emily looked at the diamond tennis bracelet on her wrist. "He had good taste," she remarked.

"No doubt," Penelope agreed.

"Fine," Emily said. "But if I win—you have to ask Derek Morgan out on a date."

Penelope's eyes widened. "What?" she shrieked. "Absolutely not."

Emily laughed. "Your call," she told her friend.

Penelope sighed. Ask Derek Morgan out? For God's sake, if this were a comic book, he'd be her arch-enemy. There was no one on this earth that she loathed as much as she did Derek Morgan. But if she backed out now, it would be like admitting defeat before the game had even begun. She sighed. "Fine," she snapped. "If you win…I'll ask him out. But when I win…" She eyed her friends' wrist. "I get that gorgeous bracelet," she said dreamily.

Emily lifted her wine glass. "Deal," she said.

Penelope lifted her own and they clinked on it.


	2. Chapter 1

Penelope Garcia was walking towards the BAU when she heard the noise from his stereo. Instinctively, she rolled her eyes—she tended to do that a lot when he was around. If she looked behind her, he'd probably have his shades on, too. A fitted shirt, perfectly tailored pants… Derek Morgan was _so_ predictable. And an ass, to boot.

Maybe it was his SLWNEZ license plate that turned her off. In Penelope's experience, guys who were fantastic didn't need to advertise it; they radiated it. He was probably all about himself in bed—probably rolled right over and went to sleep afterwards. She snorted at the thought—until she realized she was thinking about Derek Morgan's bedroom habits. _Get a grip, Garcia,_ she silently scolded herself.

She hurried her pace, not wanting to have to ride in the elevator with him again. Silence for someone like her was excruciating. Penelope liked _noise_; she liked _talking._ And Derek was neither noisy nor talkative. It was enough to make her uncomfortable. She scanned her badge and had just hit the button that would take her to the floor where the BAU was when the doors started to slide shut. "Come on," she muttered urgently.

Just as they were about to close, Derek practically flew through them, his body angled so it just fit through the opening. "Mornin'," he said breathlessly.

Penelope gave him a forced grin, then turned her attention to the numbers above the door. Six, seven, eight… Penelope held back a sigh. _This_ was what she got for being on time.

* * *

"Garcia," Penelope said as she answered her phone.

"Aaron Hotchner would like to see you in his office in fifteen minutes," the voice on the other end of the line said.

"Thanks, Starla," Penelope said to Hotch's secretary. She hit the button to disconnect the call and then returned to her computer. She continued on with what she'd been doing, and when twelve and a half minutes passed, she pushed her chair back and stood, then made her way to her boss's office. She was disgruntled to find Derek standing there as well. "What are _you_ doing here?" she asked as she approached.

"I was invited," Derek said indifferently. He had his hands in the pockets of his gray trousers, and the black, maroon, and gray striped tie rested crisply against his maroon button up dress shirt. "You?"

"I was also invited," she said primly. She crossed her arms over her chest and waited. They stood there for a few minutes before Hotch opened his door.

"My apologies for the wait; I had to take a call," he informed them. "Please. Come in."

"What's this about?" Derek asked as he took a seat across from Hotch's desk.

Penelope did the same.

Hotch sat down and cleared his throat. "November 13th, Tempe, Arizona," he said, looking at a piece of paper on the desk in front of him. "Penelope Garcia issues Derek Morgan a 'Fuck you' over speaker phone in front of a room full of officers. November 16th, Atlanta, Georgia, Derek Morgan says, and I quote 'Better get your shit together, Baby Girl, or you'll be the first to be gone when budget cuts rear their ugly head.' This was in Boston, in front of a room full of senior F.B.I agents on January 14th, 'Maybe if you weren't so busy spending your weekends bed hopping, you could have done a little research and found out—'"

Penelope cleared her throat. "We get the picture. Bottom line?"

"The bottom line is, if you two _don't_ get your shit together, you're gonna be transferred out of _my_ department."

"He's the one who—"

"She too damn snippety for her own good!"

They spoke at the same time and Hotch sighed. "This is _exactly_ what I'm talking about," he informed them. "We're supposed to be a team, but any time the opportunity arises, you two are throwing each other under the bus! Do you know what that tells me?"

They both just sat there, not saying a word. Out of the corner of her eye, Penelope could see Derek's jaw ticking. Clearly he was pissed. _Well, welcome to the club! _she wanted to shout.

"It tells me that maybe you aren't ready for the F.B.I. at all."

Still, neither spoke.

"You're both on probation for the next six weeks," Hotch informed them. "One wrong move from either one of you, and you're gone. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal," Derek said, standing. His eyes were blazing. "Are we done here?" he asked with forced composure.

Hotch nodded and Derek left the office.

Penelope was right behind him, and when he went right—the same right she needed to take to get to her own office, she took a left. She needed to be as far away from him as possible. She wasn't as composed as he was—she _stalked_ to the kitchen, grabbed a mug from the cupboard, and slammed it down onto the counter.

"Everything all right, Garcia?" JJ asked as she walked into the kitchen.

Penelope looked at JJ—glared daggers, actually. "No, everything is most definitely _not_ all right," she muttered.

"What's going on?" JJ asked, reaching into the cupboard for a tea bag.

"Dim-witted Derek Morgan, _that's_ what!" she snapped.

JJ bit back a grin. "You guys at each others throats again?" she asked.

"No. We are not at each others throats. We were, however, just in Hotch's office."

"And?"

"We're on probation."

"You're kidding me," JJ said.

"Does this look like the face of someone who is kidding?" Penelope hissed.

"Mmm…maybe not," JJ said carefully.

Penelope stirred some creamer into her coffee and picked her mug up off the counter, then headed for the bullpen. "I'll show _him_ professionalism," she muttered on her way out of the kitchen.

* * *

Penelope picked up a pile of files and left her office, heading for the BAU room. Her office was cluttered—leaving her little space for the project she was working on. Penelope hated clutter—she couldn't concentrate when there was clutter. But they were rearranging things in the building right now, and unfortunately, her office had turned into a 'catch-all.' She pushed open the door and froze in her tracks, then turned to leave.

"I think we can work in the same room," Derek said dryly.

"You can't work when I'm in the same room," she reminded him. _Those_ words had come from his own lips. "You don't like me because I'm annoying."

"I don't like you because you're _distracting_," he told her.

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, I know. My voice is too shrill, I chew my gum too-

"No," he said firmly. "You're eyes are too blue, your hair is too soft, and your lips look way too damn…_kissable_," he finished.

Penelope felt her eyes widen and she was pretty sure her jaw dropped. "But you…don't like me," she said in a small voice.

"I don't like that when you're around, I get sidetracked," he corrected. "There's a difference."

Disbelieving laughter bubbled up Penelope's throat and she shook her head furiously. "No," she said firmly. "You _hate_ me!"

Derek gave her a harsh look. "Darlin', given enough time, I'm sure I could learn to really…" He looked her up and down. "_Like _you."

The statement itself was innocent, but his tone...suggestive was the only word she could use to describe it.

Penelope took a deep breath, opened her mouth…then turned and fled the room.


	3. Chapter 2

It had been a slow week at the BAU—a fact that Penelope was thankful for. At least while the team wasn't in the middle of a case she didn't have to talk to Morgan. The agents had been catching up on paperwork, and Penelope had been revamping all of her computer programs, a task that was long overdue. She took a sip of her coffee as she stepped off the elevator and her eyebrows furrowed. Was it her imagination, or was everyone staring at her? Penelope shook her head. Her imagination, she was sure. Until she heard the whispers.

_Who do you think is gonna win the bet?_

_Seriously, have you seen Garcia shake her ass on the dance floor? She's got it in the bag._

OK, so she grinned at that one.

_Yeah, but have you seen Prentiss in a pair of jeans?_

That made her scowl. _She'd_ seen Emily in a pair of jeans, and the woman was built like a brick shithouse.

Prentiss wasn't at her desk, so Penelope perused the bullpen and saw her friend in the conference room. She made her way up the ramp and walked into where her friend was and placed her bag on the table. "Has it escaped your attention that everyone is talking about our bet?" she asked.

"Why do you think I'm in _here_?" Prentiss asked dryly.

"I can't believe everyone knows!" Penelope exclaimed.

"Yes, well, when you tell Reid something—"

"I didn't tell Reid anything," Penelope said.

Prentiss winced. "I did."

"Nice, Em." Penelope made her way to the doorway. "Reid!" she bellowed.

He looked up.

"Get your scrawny ass in here!" she commanded.

She watched as Reid stood up from his desk and made his way to the conference room. "What's up?" he asked, using his spoon to get every drop of his organic yogurt from the container.

Penelope took a deep breath and looked at the ceiling. "How did everyone find out about our bet?"

"Oh, was it a secret?" he asked.

"Of course it was a secret!" she snapped.

JJ breezed into the room. "Are you talking about the bet?" she asked, sitting down at the table.

"No!" Penelope said.

"Yes," Reid said at the same time.

JJ grinned. "So which is it?"

Penelope sighed. "I'm yelling at Reid for spilling the beans."

"You should probably be yelling at Prentiss for even telling me," he said, tossing his empty container at the trash can. He missed and went over to pick it up.

"Did we have a meeting scheduled?" Derek asked as he walked into the room.

"No," Penelope said angrily. But for once, it wasn't him she was angry at.

"We're discussing 'the bet,'" JJ informed him.

"What bet?" he asked.

"It's nothing," Penelope muttered. It had been days, but she was still reeling over the fact that he found her…distracting. And not in the way she'd originally thought.

"Well, it's not _nothing_," JJ contradicted.

"So what is it?" Derek pressed.

"Garcia and Prentiss have a bet going to see who can get laid first," Reid said.

"Reid!" Emily said exasperated. "We're not trying to get laid. We're just trying to get dates."

"What's the difference?" Derek asked amused.

Penelope was sure her cheeks were flaming red. She certainly didn't want to be talking about something so personal in front of _Morgan_.

"What are the ground rules?" Reid asked, changing the subject.

Penelope shrugged. "We have to go out on five dates with the same guy before we sleep with him," she said.

"Don't you think that's a bit obscure?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" Penelope returned.

"Well, you could go out on five dates five nights in a row. It should be one date a week," he suggested. He certainly didn't want to see Emily hopping into bed with just _any_body.

"That's actually a good idea," Prentiss said, much to Reid's relief. "What else do you have?"

He shrugged. "That was it."

"Five dates?" Derek scoffed. "Good luck holding a guys interest for that long."

JJ laughed.

"Hey!" Emily said.

"All we think about is sex," Derek said.

"Well _this_ just in," Prentiss said sarcastically.

Derek laughed. "I know I'm not bringing you breaking information," he said. "I'm just reminding you."

Penelope studied his face as he spoke. She'd never heard him laugh before. His eyes crinkled at the corners and the sound was nice-deep and hearty; it softened his jaw when he laughed.

"So…what's the plan?" Derek asked.

Penelope cleared her throat. "We don't actually _have_ a plan," she said.

"I think we should go to Parkers tomorrow night," Prentiss brainstormed.

Penelope frowned at her friends' choice of location. "That's just across the street."

"So?"

Penelope looked at Emily. "So there are a lot of people from the bureau that go there. We don't need an audience."

"Let's all go!" JJ said animatedly.

"What? No!" Penelope said.

"I think that's a _great_ idea," Reid agreed with JJ as he grinned widely.

"I'm in," Derek said.

Prentiss grinned. "It's settled, then."

_Great,_ Penelope thought. Picking up men with an audience. _That_ should be fun.

* * *

The club was hopping, and Penelope and Emily had been openly perusing men for the last hour. Garcia took a sip of her fruity drink and then stood. "If you'll excuse me, all, I'm going to try and break me off a piece of _that_," she said, pointing to the blonde haired man standing back to the bar.

She began walking away—shaking her hips generously—Derek couldn't help but notice. "What about you, Prentiss?" he asked, prying his eyes away from Garcia's backside.

"Oh, I like to take it nice and slow," she said with a sultry grin.

"I'll _bet_ you do," JJ said, taking a sip of her beer.

They sat there for half an hour, all jibing Prentiss about the bet. But Derek couldn't keep his eyes off Penelope. She sure was putting the moves on the man she'd picked up at the bar.

He returned his attention to his coworkers and was surprised when Penelope sat down next to him.

"What happened?" Reid asked.

"His girlfriend," Penelope said with a pout.

"Awww…poor baby," Prentiss teased.

"I really thought he could be the one," Penelope said sulkily.

JJ laughed. "You just met him."

"Yes, but with a bod like that…hubba, hubba. The man had definite potential." She sighed. "I need another drink," she announced.

Derek stood up. "I'll get it," he said, heading for the bar.

"If you'll excuse me, I need to go to the ladies room," Penelope said, heading for the hallway near the back. She walked into the bathroom and reached into her shirt. Her lip gloss was tucked between her breasts, and she proceeded to freshen up, then left the ladies room. Penelope was straightening her bra as she made her way into the hallway and screeched when her upper arms were grabbed. Her eyes flew up to Morgan's face. "What are you doing?" she asked breathlessly.

He didn't say a word, just stalked towards her and pinned her against the wall with his entire body, his mouth coming down onto hers. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, his tongue was assaulting her mouth with what felt like months of pent up passion. He lifted a hand to her throat, his fingers splayed over her neck. He moved his hand up so her head was forced back, and his tongue thrust further into her mouth.

Penelope wanted to push him away, but he tasted so damn good, she couldn't find the strength. His kiss was intoxicating, so instead, she lifted her arms to his shirt and used her fists to pull him nearer to her. After she'd pulled his upper body close, he stepped forward, his lower body cradled between hers. It was close quarters—she had to flatten her hands on his chest for comfort. He broke their kiss, his lips moving to place a string of hot open-mouthed kisses along her jaw. He pulled his hand away from her neck and proceeded to kiss his way down to the vee in her t-shirt. Her cleavage was plentiful, but his lips were very thorough—unwilling to miss a single inch of flesh. Penelope threw her head back even further, each one of his kisses pushing her further into oblivion. She felt her nipples harden and apparently so did he, because his thumbs came to rest on them over her shirt. But for what his touch was doing, she might as well have not been wearing one. Even through the layers of her cotton shirt and bra, his touch was electric. He moved his thumbs back and forth, caressing the taut peaks of her breasts. Penelope could feel an ache begin between her thighs and that was when sanity returned. She pushed him away in shock. "That did _not_ just happen," she said in a ragged voice. Then she stalked away and returned to the table with their friends. And to think, just earlier that week, she'd been thinking about how horrible he'd probably be in bed. Well…after that kiss, she was rethinking _that_ supposition.


	4. Chapter 3

Penelope sat down across from Prentiss and JJ, not quite meeting their eyes.

"Everything OK?" Emily asked.

"Huh?" Penelope asked, her head snapping up. "Oh, yeah. I'm fine." She lifted a fingertip to her lips and traced a path along her lower one. For God's sake, it was still tingling. What had he _done_ to her?

The object of her thoughts slid into the booth next to her empty handed.

"Where's Penelope's drink?" Reid asked.

"Damn," Derek said, standing. "Sultry blonde at the bar _distracted_ me," he explained. "Be right back."

Derek disappeared and was back in a flash with Penelope's drink—the bartender had been a woman, so of-_course_ he'd been served immediately. He put her drink in front of her and she quickly snagged it up, taking a large gulp. "Let's dance," she said to Prentiss, giving Derek a shove. He stood up to let her out, and Prentiss and JJ followed her out onto the dance floor. The girls began to dance as Derek and Reid sat there for a few minutes. It didn't take long before a few men joined in, and it was then that Derek decided he'd had enough.

"Leaving?" Reid asked as Derek stood.

"Nope," he answered, taking a swig of his beer. "Dancin'."

He headed for the girls and proceeded to join them on the dance floor. Derek Morgan certainly had a presence—and it wasn't long before the three men turned into two, into one, until he was alone with them. He moved behind Prentiss and started dancing, his body cradling hers. She put her hands on his knees and played it up, dancing along.

_That_ was when Reid materialized as if from nowhere. He moved in beside Derek and continued to shift to the right until Derek was no longer behind Emily. When she turned around, she grinned. "Reid!" she exclaimed, putting her hands on his shoulders. "You're dancing!"

He grinned back as he reached for her hands, and they started to dance together. You could fit a full body in between them—they certainly weren't grinding—but they were clearly having a good time.

Derek stayed between Penelope and JJ, the three of them dancing for the next hour. They finally made their way back to the table, and Penelope lifted the hair off the back of her neck with one hand and fanned her face with the other. "Whew. What a workout!" she said, flopping down into her seat.

"I'll say," JJ said as Emily and Reid made their way to the table with some glasses and a pitcher of ice water. Everyone grabbed a glass and filled it, thirsty after their workout on the dance floor.

"I have to go," Penelope finally announced.

"What?" Prentiss looked at her watch. "It's only eleven o'clock."

"I'm tired," Penelope lied. She had to get away from Derek. He'd been getting his groove on while on the dance floor, and she'd gotten a pretty good look at the way his hips moved. She had to force herself not to begin fanning again.

"I'll walk you out," Derek said, standing. Four sets of shocked eyes flew to his face. "I teach self defense," he reminded them. "And I happened to notice that the lighting out there in that parking lot sucked."

"Do you want to walk me out, too, Reid?" Penelope asked hopefully. Derek was the only one who noticed the desperation in her voice.

Reid laughed. "Right. Because I'll be a great asset to Derek if something happens. No thanks," he said, moving the umbrella in his drink aside so he could take a sip.

"I'll call you tomorrow," Prentiss said.

Penelope nodded. "Later." She took off at top speed, trying to avoid Derek, but he was quick to catch up to her.

"You're gonna blog about me tonight, aren't you?" he asked.

Penelope stopped and spun around, pointing her finger at his chest. "What is _wrong_ with you?" she hissed. "Never mind, don't answer that! You know—you might be a good kisser, but I'm sure your skills in the bedroom are severely lacking."

Derek chuckled in amusement. "Oh, those are some fighting words," he said lowly.

"Well, I'd rather be fighting with you than kissing you!" she spat, her speed quickening.

"Can't we do both? A little arguing, then making up?" he teased.

"I'm happy to fight with you, thank you very much. And you know—it was probably a fluke! You probably aren't even that good of a kisser! It was probably a—one time thing," she sputtered.

They'd made their way to the parking lot by now, and Derek grabbed her by the arm and spun her around. "Let's find out, shall we?" he asked, pushing her against the nearest car. She lifted her head to meet his eyes, prepared to continue their sparring.

But Derek was prepared for something else. His mouth came crashing down onto hers and his tongue thrust forth, forcing her lips apart. He moved his hands to her shoulders, pulling her against him. She whimpered in protest, putting her hands on his upper arms to push him away. But when his tongue met hers in a soft caress, she changed her mind, her fingers gripping his biceps. His body wouldn't budge, so she stepped closer to him, her body sinking into his. And that was when he pushed her away. When her eyes opened, the first thing she saw was the arrogant grin on his face. She scowled immediately.

"Two for two," he said.

"Ooh!" she said angrily, pushing him away. She turned around and grabbed the handle, but the door wouldn't open. "What the—this isn't my car!" she said, looking around frantically. "Where in the hell is my car?"

Derek pointed to the left. "Is that it?"

She gave him an angry glare as she reached into her purse for her keys. She pulled them out and then stalked away—she could hear Derek chuckling behind her.

* * *

"I _told_ you to stop drinking," Reid said in amusement as he unlocked Emily's front door.

"I'm not drunk, Reid. Just a little…tipsy."

"Yes, well, tipsy to you and tipsy to me…are two different things," he informed her as he opened the door and reached for the light switch on the left.

They walked in and Emily tossed her purse and keys on the kitchen counter. "I'm hungry," she said. "You hungry?"

Reid shrugged. "I could eat." He grinned. "You gonna cook for me?"

Prentiss scoffed. "If you call pouring a bowl of cereal cooking," she said dryly.

"Yeah…I don't," Reid said as Prentiss pulled two bowls down from the cupboard, then opened another one to get the cereal. Reid reached into the refrigerator for the milk and they proceeded to make their bowls of Special K with fresh bananas chunks tossed in.

They made their way to the living room and Emily turned the television on, stopping at The Golden Girls. "Awww…that Blanche really rocked my socks," Reid said.

Emily howled with laughter. "Reid, she's old enough to be someone's grandmother," she said.

"Someone's _sexy_ grandmother," he confirmed.

She rolled her eyes. "We need to get you a life, Reid," she teased.

They finished their cereal, and made their way to the kitchen to take care of their bowls. "You might as well sleep on the couch," Prentiss said.

Reid nodded. "My toothbrush still here?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"OK," he said. He went into the bathroom—it was off Emily's bedroom—and brushed his teeth, then walked back into Emily's room. She was lying on top of the covers in a pair of yellow and red checked short shorts and a yellow tank.

Reid flopped down onto the bed beside her.

"What are you doing?" she asked with a laugh.

Reid yawned. "I don't think I can make it to the couch."

"Sure you can," she told him. "It's about twenty steps…" She pointed to the open doorway. "Through there," she finished.

"Just let me close my eyes for a minute," he said with another yawn. He lay there for a few minutes when Emily spoke again.

"Reid?"

He opened his eyes and started to sit up, but she grabbed his arm. He looked at her questioningly.

"Don't you think it's pathetic that I have to make a bet to motivate myself to get a date?" she asked.

Reid lay back down, moving up onto his side so he was facing her. "You have other priorities," he said softly.

"Yeah, but…don't you think that meeting someone and settling down should be my number one priority?"

"I think that's up to you," he told her.

She sighed, crossing her legs at the ankles and lifting her hands over her head. "I just...I thought I'd be in a different place by now," she admitted.

"Well…where did you think you'd be?" Reid asked.

She turned to face him. "I don't…" Her eyes fell to his lips and she swallowed past the sudden lump in her throat.

Reid lifted a hand to her cheek, using the back of his hand to run his knuckles softly over her skin. His eyes searched hers for a moment before leaning forward, his lips capturing hers in a tender kiss. Her lips parted slowly, and his tongue found hers in a sweet kiss. He moved his hand to the hem of her tank top, reaching underneath the fabric so it came to rest on her bare waist. He lifted her up onto her side and pulled himself closer to her until her breasts were just touching his chest. He lowered his hand until it was gripping the back of her knee, then tugged it upwards so it was resting on his waist.

He pulled his mouth from hers and brushed soft kisses along her cheekbone until his lips were behind her ear. She shivered, then lifted her hand to his chest until she was clutching the front of his shirt. Reid took it as a good sign and his tongue flicked out of his mouth to taste her skin.

"Reid…" she said softly.

He pulled away to look at her face. She was so beautiful with her head tilted backwards, her dark eyelashes resting on her cheeks. Reid felt a tenderness come over him that he'd never felt before and he lifted both hands to her face, running his thumbs over her cheeks. Her eyelids fluttered open and he leaned forward to take her mouth in a hot kiss.

He grabbed her upper arms and pulled her up with him until they were both on their knees. She reached for the buttons on his shirt, opening them one by one. She leaned forward to kiss the center of his chest as she pushed his shirt down off his shoulders, kissing her way up until she reached his jaw. Emily pulled away and reached for the hem of her tank top, pulling it over her head.

Reid watched as she stood up beside the bed, stepping out of her shorts. When she placed a knee back on the mattress, he stood, pulling his shoes off and tossing them in no particular direction. He removed the rest of his clothing and joined her on the bed. She was still on her knees, and Reid moved towards her again, wrapping his arms in a loose circle around her waist. He leaned forward and took a nipple in his mouth, his tongue moving slowly and softly back and forth.

"Oh…" she moaned. Reid continued to tease her flesh before moving to the other breast, his tongue gaining momentum with each passing moment. "Reid…" she said urgently.

He lifted his head, looking at her.

She pushed at his shoulders, and he gave in to her, laying back on the mattress. She moved her hand between his legs and wrapped a hand around him. Reid inhaled sharply. "It's been a long time, Em," he said, his voice rising.

She lifted her eyes to his, a wicked grin on her face. She tightened her grip and moved it up and down a few times before leaning forward and licking the tip of his length. She moved her tongue back and forth quickly and for just a second before pulling back and throwing a leg over his waist. She lowered herself down onto him leisurely—inch by glorious inch. His eyes closed as he took a deep breath, struggling for control. She started to ride him, fast and furious, but Reid shook his head fiercely.

He'd been waiting for this for a long time, and now that the moment was here, he wasn't willing to let it fly by. He reached for her hips and gripped her tightly, forcing her body to still. "Slow," he commanded sternly. He kept his hands on her hips to set the pace—unhurried but steady. When she knew what he wanted, Reid let go of her hips and reached for her hands, linking his fingers with hers. She leaned fowardm putting her weight on him, moving her hips in circles around him. "Fuck, Emily," he bit out in a raspy voice.

Emily wasn't sure why, but Reid's use of the word was her undoing. She'd never heard him utter a single curse, and the fact that he wanted her so much he couldn't control his words—that said a lot for Reid. He suddenly sat up and shifted their positions so she was on her back, staying inside of her the entire time. He moved between her thighs, the same pace as before. He moved his hands to rest on each side of her head, and when she lifted her hands to grip the pillow tightly, Reid let his pace increase, moving upwards so his length could rub against her center as he plunged in and out of her. When he heard a cry escape from the back of her throat, his lips came down onto hers and his pace became frantic until he felt her body stiffen again. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he felt her moan beneath his kiss. That was enough for Reid, his body finding its release with Emily wrapped around him.

His body dropped down onto hers, and he rested his cheek against hers as his breath came in rapid gasps. "Awww…Em," he said softly, giving her a gentle kiss behind the ear. He rolled off her and she moved up onto her side so she was facing away from him, but he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back against him, his chin resting on her shoulder as his hand splayed over her stomach. He didn't say anything—just lay there holding her.

Emily was…dazed; everything Reid had done had been loving and considerate. She held back the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes. No man had ever touched her with such tenderness before.


	5. Chapter 4

Reid fastened the last button on his shirt, then walked over to Prentiss' side of the bed and bent at the knees until he was level with her face. "Em," he whispered.

"Hmmm…" she moaned, eyes still closed.

"I have to go."

Her eyes flew open. "Where are you going?" she asked sleepily.

"I have to help Derek work on his garage."

"Really?" she asked in surprise.

Reid laughed. "Just…pass him two by fours and stuff."

Emily laughed as she reached for his hand resting on the bed. She gave it a tug and pulled him close, kissing him softly on the lips. He reached his free hand up to the back of her neck and pulled her closer, his tongue running along the seam of her lips. They parted immediately, her tongue thrusting forth seeking his. She let go of his hand, both of her arms reaching up around his neck. She clung to him as they kissed, not wanting him to go just yet. She finally pulled away, her hands still linked behind his neck. "Are you sure you have to go?" she asked breathlessly.

Reid grinned, his hands reaching behind him to grip her wrists. "Yeah. I told him I'd be there by 9. It's quarter of."

She let him move her hands away from him with a sigh. "Are you sure you don't want to shower?" she asked teasingly.

Reid stood up before he let her talk him into it. Of-_course _he wanted to shower with her, but instead, he grinned down at her. "I'll see you tomorrow," he said softly.

Emily watched him leave the room and when she heard her front door open and close, she breathed a sigh. It couldn't really be described as a sigh of relief—it was more a sigh of contentment. He hadn't tried to sleep with her again. But she'd woken up a few times during the night, and each time, she was in the same position—her back against Reid's chest, his hand resting protectively on her waist. She'd been able to feel his breathing on her shoulder and had forced herself not to shiver in case she woke him. She'd wanted to roll over just to look at him, but she'd have been mortified if he'd have caught her, so she'd held back.

Tomorrow was certainly going to be interesting.

* * *

"So, any luck after I left last night?" Penelope asked as she and Prentiss made their way down a side street, keeping a brisk pace.

Emily had had _lots _of luck last night, but she wasn't about to share that information with Penelope. "Not a lick of luck," she lied. "But…Derek walking you to your car? _That_ was weird."

_You have no idea,_ Penelope thought. But instead of saying that, she shrugged. "He likes to be in control," she reminded her friend.

"And you know this _how_?" Prentiss teased.

"Call it an educated guess." There was a short pause. "I'm thinking this bet might be a little harder than I anticipated," she admitted.

Emily laughed. "Last night was our first night out. How can you tell so soon?"

"I don't know. For God's sake, if I can't get a date when my life is _normal_, how am I gonna get one when I'm betting a raven haired bombshell? And…how in the _hell_ am I gonna win?"

Emily grinned. "Maybe you're not."

"Oh, failing isn't an option," Penelope said. There was no _way_ she was going to ask Derek Morgan out. The man was…full of himself! And…he thought he was an amazing kisser, which…ok, he was! But he didn't need to know that. And he certainly didn't need to flaunt it. Penelope lifted a hand to her lips at the thought of his kiss, tracing the outline of her lower lip.

"_What_ are you doing?" Emily asked. "You were doing the same thing last night at the bar."

"Nothing," Penelope said, letting her hand drop to her side. Sweet Lord, she was about as inconspicuous as a train wreck!

"Are your lips chapped?" Emily pressed.

"No," Penelope said, knowing that if she didn't change the subject she'd be the color of a maraschino cherry in about ten seconds.

"How about Derek on the dance floor last night, huh?" Emily said approvingly. "That man can _move!_"

"I didn't notice," Penelope said trying to sound indifferent.

"Then you must be blind! I mean—he was rocking those hips like there was no tomorrow."

"Well, you should know," Penelope said huffily before she could stop herself.

Emily laughed. "What does that mean?"

Penelope shrugged. "Nothing," she said.

"Are you…_jealous_ because Derek was dancing with me?"

"No," Penelope lied. "And it was more like…_against_ you. I just…I'm surprised he didn't try to take you home. And…you know if you _do_ win the bet with Derek, I'll have to ask out your boyfriend." Penelope wasn't sure _why _she wanted Emily to stay away from Derek, only that she did.

Emily laughed. "I'm not going to date Derek," she said. "He's too…smooth."

"Oh, what, and you're not into smooth?" Penelope challenged. What in the _hell_ was wrong with her? First she was mad that Emily could be considering dating Derek, and now she was mad because she _wasn't_? She hoped to God she was PMSing. She turned to look at her friend, then furrowed her brows at the sight.

"You look…different today," Penelope said shrewdly.

"Get a few drinks in me and I sleep like a log," Emily said dismissively.

"No, you look…content," Penelope said. "Is that weird?"

"Kinda." Emily picked up the pace. For God's sake, did it say 'I had sex with Reid last night' on her forehead?

"Well, whatever," Penelope said, shaking her head. "I just think this bet is gonna be a hell of a lot harder than either of us imagined."

"Are you saying you want to call it off?" Emily asked.

"Oh, no," Penelope said. "I'm just saying it's time to go full court press."

* * *

Prentiss arrived at the office before everyone else the next morning. She'd worked on paperwork all last week, but she was still nowhere near being finished. She'd just put on a fresh pot of coffee in the kitchen and made her way back to her desk and sat down, tackling the mound of files in front of her. Before she knew it, people were sauntering in and she went to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee before it disappeared. She was back to her cubicle standing at her desk studying a file when she saw a shadow beside her. She looked up and Reid was standing there. "Hi, Reid," she said indifferently.

"Hey," he said softly.

Emily looked around nervously. "Don't say hey like that," she hissed.

"Like what?" Reid asked confused.

She didn't say anything, just stood there nervously.

"Are you…_ashamed_ of me?" he asked.

"I—" She sighed. "Look, Reid, the other night was great…"

He nodded. "Right. But Sayonara. I get it," he said, turning on his heel.

"No. Reid!" she said urgently. She reached for him, but when she saw Derek approaching, her hand fell to her side.

Reid looked her up and down, shaking his head. "I should've known better," he said.

"What was that all about?" Derek asked when he reached her.

Prentiss shook her head. "Nothing," she lied.

* * *

"This day sucks," Prentiss said as she walked into Garcia's office and flopped down into the nearest chair.

"Oh. Talk to Penelope. Tell me what's wrong," she teased.

Prentiss sighed. "Paperwork," she lied. "I hate…paperwork."

"Don't we all?" Garcia muttered.

"And men. I hate men, too."

Garcia laughed. "Does this mean you think the bet is gonna be hard, too?"

Prentiss sighed. "I'm thinking it's gonna be impossible."

"Do you just wanna give me that diamond tennis bracelet now?"

"I didn't say I was gonna give up. I just said it was gonna be hard."

"Impossible," Garcia reminded her. "You said it's going to be impossible."

"Well I didn't mean it," Prentiss muttered, standing up. She sighed. "I need to get back to my stack of paperwork."

"Hey," Garcia said as her friend turned to leave.

Prentiss stopped and turned around.

"What's going on with Reid?"

"What do you mean?" Prentiss asked cautiously.

"He came in to see me a little bit ago and he was kind of…" Penelope wrinkled her nose. "Bitchy."

Prentiss sighed. "Hard tellin'," she said.

* * *

It was mid-afternoon, and Penelope needed a break, so she got up from her computer to take a walk around the floor. She'd just walked into the hallway through the glass doors and when she saw Derek approaching, she ducked into the bathroom.

No one else was in there, so Penelope sighed as she leaned against the back of the door. For crying out loud, she was a grown woman. And here she was hiding out in a bathroom to avoid a man who gave her what was probably the best kiss of her life. She lifted her hand instinctively, but before it could reach her lips again, she forced it back to her side. Penelope would give anything to go back to last week—when she and Derek had been…archenemies—was that too dramatic?—sitting in Hotch's office being scolded. And then she _wouldn't_ go to the bar, she _certainly_ wouldn't go to the bathroom at the bar, and she _definitely_ wouldn't let Derek walk her to her car! After counting to a hundred—surely Derek must be gone by now—she pulled open the door. And there he was, standing in the doorway.

"Coward," he said.

She lifted her chin. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said defiantly.

"You're avoiding me."

"Are you seeking me out?" she asked.

"Yep."

She closed her eyes, sighed, then opened them again. "Why?" she demanded.

Derek grinned. "You opened the floodgates, Darlin'. Now I can't get you off my mind."

"When did I open the floodgates?" she asked in disbelief.

"When you walked into the conference room last week."

"I tried to leave, but you told me to stay!"

"You should _never_ listen to me," he warned.

"Well it's a little too late for that _now_, isn't it?" she snapped.

"We could have avoided that if you hadn't thrown down the gauntlet Saturday night."

"What gauntlet?" she asked desperately. He really was standing too close.

"Accusing me of not being good in bed? Tsk, tsk, tsk Garcia."

"I was…thrown for a loop."

"Not yet, but you will be." He moved closer to her and she was forced to step back into the bathroom. He stalked towards her until the door closed behind them. "I'll get you into bed," he said boldly.

She laughed nervously. "No you won't."

"Oh, Garcia. But I will. I have to prove to you that my skills in the bedroom aren't…how did you put it? Oh, yeah. 'Severely lacking.'" His voice was husky, but his eyes were dancing. The man was an enigma that was for sure.

"Well, all you have to do is _tell_ me!" she said.

"Oh, but Darlin'-I've always liked show better than tell," Morgan insisted, his eyes falling to her lips.

She couldn't help it—her tongue shot out to lick her lips and Morgan's gaze remained fixed on the action. She thought for sure he was gonna kiss her again, but instead, he spun on his heel and made his way out of the ladies room.

Penelope was distraught to find that her breathing was as heavy as if he _had _kissed her—and dammitt, if she was being honest with herself, she was pretty aroused_._

* * *

Prentiss had been waiting to get Reid alone all day, but it had been nearly impossible. She hadn't realized how sought after he was by everyone. His desk was constantly surrounded by people looking for information. Finally, he got up and made his way out of the glass doors and she nonchalantly stood up and followed him out. She groaned when he went into the men's room. But if she wanted to see him, she was gonna have to settle for that. She frowned in distaste as she opened the door.

"I am _not_ ashamed of you," she said fiercely, stopping him from walking into one of the stalls.

Reid scoffed. "Right," he said turning around. "Because you _always _blow someone off when you want them."

She sighed, walking over to him and putting her hands on his shoulders. "Reid, it might not make sense to you, but…" She took a deep breath and shook her head. "Before everyone knows, before everyone gets their _hooks_ into us, I want _this," _She waved her hand back and forth between them. "I want _us._ I don't want us and them, because that's what it will turn into when they all find out. You _know_ it will, Reid." She lifted her hands to his head, her eyes piercing into his. "Oh, Reid," she breathed before lifting her lips to his. She kissed him softly. "I _want_ you," she said intensely. "But…we didn't even talk about it. Is that what you want, too?"

In answer, Reid wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him. When he lowered his head, she opened her mouth and his tongue pushed forward, searching for hers. She expected it to be like it was before –soft and sweet. But it wasn't. Reid shoved his thigh between her legs and practically lifted her off the floor. His tongue explored every inch of her mouth, hot and hard. Prentiss whimpered and Reid pushed her away, his breathing ragged. "Sorry about that," he said half-heartedly.

"For God's sake, Reid," Emily said, catching her own breath. "Don't apologize."

When he let go, she slid down his body. She made a small 'oh' with her lips when she felt his arousal through his pants. "You want me, too," she said with a grin.

He smirked at her. "Yes, well…you can't deny _hard_ evidence," he joked.

"Awww…you made a joke," she said, patting him on the cheek. "Good one, Reid."

He seized her wrist and kissed the palm of her hand, then smiled softly. "Thanks," he said.

Prentiss' could feel her heart melt as if she were sixteen again. Everything about him was…sincere. Over the last few days, Reid had suddenly become so attractive she could barely stand it. She wondered why she'd never seen it before now.

Prentiss's eyes widened as they heard a toilet flush. They were so shocked that it never crossed their mind to take off.

The door to the stall opened and Kevin Lynch walked out. He nodded at them. "Reid. Prentiss," he grinned as he walked over to the sink and washed his hands. He grabbed a paper towel and wiped his hands, then headed for the door.

"Lynch—"

He held up his hands in front of him. "I didn't hear a thing."

One thing was for sure—bathrooms were a happening place in the BAU today.


	6. Chapter 5

"What are you guys doing Saturday?" JJ asked as she walked into Penelope's office and sat down. The team had just gotten back from a local case, and Prentiss was in Penelope's office unwinding.

"I'm gonna try to get the first of five dates until the time comes when I can _finally_ get laid," Penelope said.

JJ laughed. "Would you settle for a barbecue with friends instead?"

Penelope shrugged. "Why not? My luck hasn't been that great anyway."

JJ nodded. "Emily?"

"Who's gonna be there?" she asked dryly.

JJ kicked her friend playfully. "Are you too snobby to hang out with us?" she asked.

Prentiss laughed. "No. I'm just curious."

"Reid said he'll be there—probably chef's hat in tow, even though he won't cook—and…I haven't asked Derek yet."

Penelope wrinkled her nose. "Do you _have_ to invite him?" she asked despairingly.

JJ rolled her eyes. "Isn't it time for you two to kiss and make up?" she joked.

_Well, we certainly have the kissing down,_ Penelope thought. "I wouldn't _kiss_ him if he were the last—"

"What's goin' down in here?" Derek asked from the doorway.

Penelope had the good manners to blush and Prentiss bit back a grin.

JJ stood. "Barbecue. My house. Saturday afternoon at two o'clock. You in?"

"Sure," Derek said. "Do you need me to bring anything?"

Prentiss lifted an eyebrow. "Buns," she said.

"What? We don't need…" JJ's voice trailed off.

Derek sighed. "Do you want me to turn around?" he asked. He'd been through this before with Prentiss.

She grinned. "Yep."

"You guys having a party without me?" Reid asked as he walked in.

"Oh, no," JJ said. "Emily's just studying Derek's…_assets._"

Reid's gaze flew to Derek's backside and then he scowled and abruptly left the room.

"What is _with_ him lately?" Penelope asked. "For the past…four days it's like he's not…Spencer Reid."

Prentiss shrugged. "Damned if I know."

Emily frowned as she realized she was damned.

* * *

There was no way that Penelope was going to this barbecue alone if Derek Morgan was going to be there. God knew how long it would be before he cornered her and had her in a lip lock.

So she was going to pull out all the stops to find a date—even if it was a fake one. She practically flew out of the BAU late Friday afternoon and into the elevator, hitting the floor that was two levels above hers.

A few minutes later she walked into Kevin Lynch's office and he turned around with a confused look on his face. "Can…I…help you?" he asked carefully.

"You sure can, Kevin Lynch," Penelope answered. "Do you have plans tomorrow?"

"Yes," he told her. "I'm going on the great computer monitor hunt."

She shook her head. "You can do that on Sunday. You're coming to JJ's with me tomorrow for a barbecue," she announced.

Kevin frowned and his nose scrunched up. "Are you gonna use me to win the bet with Emily Prentiss?" he asked.

Her eyes instantly flew to his crotch. "No!" she exclaimed. "God, no!"

"You don't have to act so distraught at the idea of sleeping with me."

"My apologies," Penelope said weakly.

"So I'm gonna be your bodyguard?" he deduced.

"Excuse me?" she asked in surprise.

Kevin scoffed. "Derek Morgan ring a bell?" he asked.

Oh, he rang her bell all right. "What does…Derek Morgan have to do with anything?" she asked with a nervous laugh.

But Kevin Lynch wasn't stupid. He'd seen the way Derek watched her when he thought she wasn't looking, the way he studied her when she was walking away—and Kevin couldn't blame him. Penelope Garcia had a fantastic walk.

"This barbecue—he gonna be there?"

"Yes," she answered begrudgingly.

He nodded. "Then I will be, too. What time should I pick you up?"

"One thirty," Penelope said, then gave him directions to her place.

Kevin wasn't sure _what_ was going on in that BAU down there, but he _did_ know one thing. Penelope had just offered him a front row seat to what was sure to be some good drama; and he'd be a fool to pass it up.

* * *

"So you know this isn't a date, right?" Penelope asked again as they pulled into JJ and Will's driveway the next day.

Kevin laughed. "Yes, I know this isn't a date. On either end," he reminded her. He'd just gotten out of his own dysfunctional relationship, and he had some healing to do before he started dating again. And even if he _was _ready to date again, he knew his limitations. And he was pretty sure Penelope Garcia was more woman than he could handle.

Penelope nodded. "Good. Good to know."

They got out of the car—Kevin opened her door for her—and made their way to the backyard. Penelope nearly stumbled as they walked through the back gate. Derek was standing there, a gorgeous woman with light chocolate colored skin by his side. He had a bottle of beer in one hand, and his other arm was wrapped around her waist. Penelope had to force herself not to grope for Kevin's hand, but she didn't need to prove herself—or her fake 'relationship date' to Derek.

"Hey," JJ said as she walked out of the back door, Henry on her hip.

"Hey," Penelope said as she approached her friend. Henry threw his arms out to his godmother and she reached for him, pulling him against her. She smothered his face with kisses as he giggled. "I missed you," she told him.

He laughed as she settled him on her hip, and then he shoved his thumb in his mouth and started sucking it. "I see Mommy hasn't been able to break your habit yet," she teased. Henry just grinned at her as he continued to suck his thumb.

JJ laughed. "Not yet," she said. "And I'm not sure I ever will at this point."

"Hey, Penelope," Will said as he jogged down the back steps. "And…Penelope's date."

"It's Kevin," he said, sticking his hand out to shake it.

"Will," JJ's husband said."Nice to meet you."

"You, too."

* * *

"Why do we even have to make up an excuse?" Reid asked. "Can't we just say we were hanging out at your house and we decided to ride together?"

Emily sighed. "I like to have a plan," she said, pulling her hand from his.

"Oh, you like a plan?" Reid asked.

She nodded.

"Then you should _love_ this," Reid said.

Emily waited expectantly.

"That sex you had this morning?"

"It _was_ pretty extraordinary, wasn't it?" she asked huskily.

"Yeah, it was," Reid agreed with a nod. "It's also the last time you get laid by _me_."

"What?" she asked in shock.

"Yeah," he said firmly. "The plan is…until we're 'out of the closet' we're…abstaining."

"What?" she asked again.

"You heard me," he said dismissively.

"You think I can't get you to have sex with me again?" she asked as she laughed caustically. "I could make you hard in a heartbeat."

Reid lifted an eyebrow at her. "Emily, I've been walking around with an erection for months. I think I can handle it."

Her jaw dropped in surprise.

"You're not gonna get me back into your bed until you tell everyone we're seeing each other and end this stupid bet." With that, Reid got out of the passengers side of Emily's vehicle—the entire bureau knew better than to let Spencer Reid drive—and headed for JJ's backyard.

* * *

"I forgot the potato salad," JJ said, starting to stand.

"Oh, I got it," Penelope said, tossing her napkin down onto the picnic table beside her plate. "You get Henry's plate ready." She stood up and made her way into the house and opened the refrigerator door. She pulled out the bowl of potato salad and let the door close. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw a figure standing there. "You jumped me," she said breathlessly.

"Not yet," Derek said seductively.

Penelope rolled her eyes. "Seriously," she said dryly.

He crossed his arms over his chest and smirked. "Lynch? Really?"

Penelope gave Derek a dirty look.

"You really shouldn't use him to get to me."

"Excuse me?" Penelope asked wide eyed.

"If you're using him to make me jealous…_you_. Are playing. With fire." He said lowly.

Penelope's face hardened and she stuck a fingertip against his chest, cradling the potato salad on her hip.

"Not everything is about you," she spat.

"Yes, well I have a feeling _this_ is. I've decided that I want you. And there isn't a damn thing you can do about it."

"I can keep my legs together!" she snapped.

"You can _try_," he corrected, his hand reaching up to grab the finger still against his chest. He lifted her hand to his mouth and stuck his tongue out, placing her finger against it. He closed his teeth over it, gently running them up her finger to the tip until her dropped her hand and it fell to her side.

Penelope's insides were quaking. How come a different man, a _sane_ man couldn't make her feel this way? Sighing, she reached up and put her hand on the back of his head, pulling his face down to hers. Her mouth was open by the time their lips met, and Derek's tongue thrust inside finding hers instantly. He reached up for her shirt and grabbed the fabric over her breasts, pulling her closer to him. Penelope groaned before pushing him away.

Derek's breathing was ragged and his entire body was on fire. "I swear to God, if I'm not inside of you in the next five minutes—"

"What in the hell am I doing?" Penelope said to herself. "For crying out loud, you aren't even _nice_ to me. And you think I'm gonna…let you just…_have_ me? Well, mister, _that_ isn't gonna happen," she said. "I am…_done_ letting you…" She looked him up and down. "_Kiss_ me."

He looked at her doubtfully. "Are you done kissing me back?"

"Yes!"

"So what in the _hell_ are you gonna do instead?" he asked.

She lifted an eyebrow at him. "I'm gonna take Kevin home," she said defiantly.

"You won't sleep with him," he said with certainty.

"Won't I?"

Derek shook his head. "Not your style, sweetheart."

"And how do you know what my style is?" she asked.

"I know women."

"Oh, yeah? Like your little _tart_ out there?"

"My tarts name is Jasmine."

"Yeah? Well, you're not gonna get a single thing from me," Penelope hissed. "So I hope you have fun with _her_."

Derek smirked. "I'll be thinking of you the whole time."

Penelope's eyes narrowed and she drew her hand back and slapped him across the face—not hard, just enough so he could feel it.

When his jaw dropped, it was so worth it. His hand flew to his cheek in shock.

"Pig," she muttered on her way out of the kitchen.


	7. Chapter 6

"Hi, Henry," Penelope said as the little boy came running into the kitchen. JJ and Emily were hot on his heels.

"Slow down, buddy," JJ said as he took off at top speed for his playroom.

"Em, your potato salad was delicious," Penelope said to her friend.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Emily said. "My potato salad is old news. What is going on with you and Lynch?" she asked. "Did he say anything about work this week?"

Penelope frowned as she put the rinsed bowl in the dishwasher. "He didn't say anything about work. Why? What would he have said?"

"I don't know," Prentiss said dismissively. She was paranoid. Kevin was the only one who knew about her and Reid—besides her and Reid—and for now she wanted to keep it that way. She winced when she remembered what it was costing her. Who could have known that Spencer Reid would be so skilled in bed? Except the other women he'd been with. And Emily had to force herself not to growl at _that_ thought. Which confused her a little bit. She'd never been the possessive type before.

"So, are you gonna try and win the bet with him?"

"Heck yeah!" she said exaggeratedly. It was imperative that her friends _never_ know that Kevin Lynch was providing a buffer between her and Derek Morgan. So if she had to lie to them for the time being in order to keep them in the dark, she was willing to do that.

"Is he a good kisser?" JJ asked doubtfully.

Penelope closed the dishwasher and straightened, then turned it on. "I do _not_ kiss and tell," she informed them primly. And she wasn't exactly lying about that. She still hadn't told them about Derek.

"So he's not," JJ concluded.

Penelope rolled her eyes. "Why do you need details on _my_ romanticisms?"

"Because I'm nosey," JJ muttered.

Emily nodded in agreement at that one and JJ slapped her playfully.

The last thing Penelope wanted to talk about was Kevin Lynch. Derek Morgan had just kissed her—_again_. And contrary to her original thinking, it only made her want him more. Sure, she'd told him he was probably horrible in bed, and until he'd kissed her, she'd believed it. But there was no way on God's green earth that a man kissed like that and hadn't mastered the art of lovemaking. She almost groaned at the thought. And for crying out loud, if she didn't find someone before Emily, she was going to have to ask him _out_. _That _would be humiliating.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized she only had one choice. She was going to have to trick Kevin into _really _dating her and then seduce him on their fifth date. She winced at the thought. No. There was no way she could look at Derek Morgan every day—and his ruggedly sculpted body—and then fall into bed with Kevin Lynch. She was going to need another plan. And quick.

"So…who's the tart?" she asked, trying to sound indifferent.

"You mean _Jasmine_?" JJ asked, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "Tart is right," she muttered.

"Derek met her in one of his self defense classes. But sweet Lord, with those _claws _she's got sunk into him, I'd say it's everyone else who needs protection from _her_."

JJ laughed. "Amen to _that_. I was a little afraid to leave Will out there alone with her. Do you think she'll hit on him?"

Emily grinned at the thought. "We'll know if we see him running away screaming."

"He's not alone," Penelope reminded her friend. "Kevin and Derek are out there."

"Speaking of Derek," Emily said. "Could he _be_ any more uninterested in her? I mean—why would he bring her here with him?"

JJ gasped. "He likes you," she said to Emily.

"What?" Emily asked with wide eyes.

"He _likes_ you!" JJ repeated. "The only reason he'd bring her here was if he wanted to make you jealous."

"He doesn't _like_ me," Emily said.

JJ grinned. "He could be the end of this bet for you!"

"Don't give her ideas!" Penelope snapped more forcefully that she'd meant to. "I want that damn bracelet," she muttered, trying to cover it up.

"How do you think he is in bed?" JJ asked Emily, ignoring Penelope.

Penelope pursed her lips and turned to the sink, picking up an SOS pad and going to town on the glass she'd forgotten to put in the dishwashter. She didn't usually use a scouring pad on glasses, but she needed to keep herself occupied lest the girls notice her pinkened cheeks.

"Who cares how he is in bed?" Emily asked weakly. She had Reid, for God's sake. She shouldn't be thinking of Derek's bedroom prowess. But now that JJ had brought it up…

"I bet he's fantastic. I bet he lasts, and lasts, and lasts…" JJ's voice trailed off.

"I bet he—"

"Owww!" Penelope wailed.

"What's wrong?" JJ said, racing to her friends' side.

"I broke a glass," she said miserably. Of course she had—she'd been so irritated with her friends assessment of Derek that she'd squeezed the glass she'd been holding too hard and it had burst in her hand!

"Drop it," JJ said.

Penelope opened her hand and let the glass shards fall into the sink.

JJ studied her friends' palm. "You OK?"

Penelope lifted her hand closer to her face. "I don't…" When she opened her hand wider, she saw gushing blood and instantly paled. "I don't…like blood," she said weakly. And then everything went dark.

"Will!"

They all heard JJ yell from the house and Derek moved the fastest, running through the back door first. "Everything OK?" he asked. His eyes flew to Penelope, lying in a crumpled heap on the floor.

He heard Penelope groan as she tried to sit up and was at her side in an instant. "Stay down," he said. "Prentiss, get me a pillow."

"What happened?" he asked JJ.

"She cut her hand on a glass and then…fainted," JJ said matter-of-factly. JJ hardly ever panicked. If you were in a crises—she was a good one to have around.

"I don't like blood," Penelope said weakly.

"Of course you don't." Derek grabbed her hand for inspection, and when there was nothing wrong with it, he reached for the other one and frowned at the sight. "You're gonna need stitches," he informed her.

"Over my dead body!" Penelope said, mustering all of her strength to try and sit up.

Derek grabbed the pillow Prentiss was holding out to him and slipped it under Penelope's head, giving her shoulder a gentle push. "Not yet," he said softly.

Penelope sighed as she lay back down on the pillow. Oh, she did _not_ like doing what Derek Morgan told her to do! But she'd tried to sit up too quickly and felt dizzy as a result.

"Jasmine, can you get the first aid kit from my car?" he practically barked.

The tart disappeared without a word, then returned with the first aid kit. Derek opened it and took out something to clean her cut with, then put some Neosporin on it. "Not getting stitches is _not_ a good idea," he informed Penelope crossly. "But if you're hell bent on not having them, you need to keep this gash clean and change the bandage at least once a day."

Penelope held her breath while he wrapped it and put tape over it, but to her surprise, his handiwork was gentle and efficient.

"You still feeling faint?" he asked her.

Penelope shook her head. "I think I'm fine to stand."

Derek nodded as he stood, then held his hand out to her.

"Actually, I've got this," he heard Lynch say from beside him.

When had _he _appeared? Derek begrudgingly moved aside and watched as Lynch helped her to her feet, then pulled her against his side and wrapped his arm around her waist to give her balance.

"You faint at the sight of blood?" Reid asked amused.

Prentiss elbowed him.

"Shut up," Penelope muttered.

* * *

Penelope waved as Kevin drove off and let herself into her apartment, dropping her keys and purse by the door. She made her way to the living room and sat down on the couch, opening her palm to look at the bandage Derek had applied. Her skin was still tingling from his touch. Just like her lips did sometimes when she thought about him kissing her. If he touched her in many more places, Penelope's body was likely to go up in smoke.

Speaking of which—she was pretty sure she'd had smoke coming out of her ears when Emily and JJ had been talking about Derek. Why would JJ assume that Derek had the hots for Emily and not for _her_?

OK, so besides the obvious. It was apparent to everyone in the BAU that she and Derek didn't like each other. And she'd certainly been vocal enough about it with her friends. She'd do well to remember that before getting angry with them. Penelope sighed.

Whatever was going on with Derek Morgan—it was messing with her sanity.


	8. Chapter 7

Penelope sighed as she stood up, rolling her eyes at the banging on the front door. She'd told Kevin about six times that she was fine. Apparently it hadn't been enough. But when she opened the door, she was surprised to see Derek standing there.

"I would have at least walked you to the door," he said harshly.

"Excuse me?" Penelope asked in confusion.

"He didn't even walk you to the damn door. I would have at _least_ done that," he repeated as he pushed past her. "Granted, it would have been in the hopes that you'd ask me to stay for a good lay, but still…I would have walked you to the door."

Her eyes widened at his statement as she closed the door.

"An ice water would be great," he said, taking his black hoodie off and hanging it from the post at the bottom of the stairs.

Penelope was so surprised that all she could do was comply. He followed her into the kitchen and she was nervous as she pulled a glass down from the cupboard, then filled it with cubed ice and water from the dispenser on the front of her refrigerator. She passed it to him and he took a long drink, then sighed in satisfaction. "How's the hand?" he asked.

She instinctively opened her palm and looked down at the bandage. "It's fine," she said. "Thanks for wrapping it."

She hadn't even heard him come closer, but he reached for her wrist, his grip tender, and pulled it closer to his face. "It's done bleeding," he said.

Penelope pulled her hand away and stepped back, putting some distance between them. His nearness was once again messing with her head. "It stopped bleeding a while ago," she said dumbly.

Derek nodded, taking another gulp of water. "Was he just a prop?" he asked.

Penelope really would have liked to play it cool, but she just didn't have it in her. "Oh, what…like your little _tart_?" she shot back.

He lifted an eyebrow at her, a grin spreading across his features. "Jealous?"

She scoffed. "You wish."

"Maybe a little bit," he conceded, moving closer to her.

She moved backwards until she bumped into the counter. God, he smelled good. "What are you doing?" she asked breathlessly.

"Admit it," he said huskily. "You are as hot for me as I am for you."

"I am _not_ hot for you," she insisted. But it came out weaker than she'd hoped.

He took one last swallow of water, the ice clinking in the glass as he pulled it away from his mouth. He moved the glass down so it was touching her arm and she shivered from the coolness as he let it slide down to her elbow before slamming it down onto the counter.

Penelope jumped from the noise, Derek's closeness making her antsy. Her lips parted as she lifted her gaze to his, and his eyes were locked on hers—dark with desire. She wanted to tear her gaze away, but she couldn't. Even as his lips descended towards hers, she couldn't find the will to move. He reached up and grabbed the front of her t-shirt, hauling her against him. His lips crashed down onto hers, his tongue pushing forward to open her mouth wider. When Penelope moaned, he dropped his hands to her waist, lifting her up and placing her roughly on the counter. There was a small crashing sound as the glass fell over, but neither one of them paid any attention to it.

He'd moved her too far back on the counter—she just wasn't close enough to him. Penelope wiggled her bottom as she slid forward, lifting her legs to lock her ankles around his waist as his tongue moved with hers, swift and hot. He was skimming his hands along her outer thighs, but when she lifted her arms, Derek slid his fingertips along one of them, his fingers closing around her wrist stilling her injured hand out to her side.

Her other hand came to rest on the back of his neck, trying to pull his face closer to hers. As if that was even a possibility. His other arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her upper body closer to his and Penelope moved back and forth, her breasts rubbing against his chest. Derek chose that moment to pull away, his breathing ragged. "You're right," he said mockingly. "You're not hot for me at all."

Penelope resisted the urge to roll her eyes, letting her legs fall from his waist and moving her hands behind herself on the counter to keep her balance.

"We're gonna end up in bed together," he informed her. "It's gonna be hot, it's gonna be hard…but hopefully it won't be quick."

Penelope laughed in disbelief and Derek leaned down to kiss her jaw.

"Think about _that_ while you're trying to get to sleep tonight," he whispered in her ear. He lifted his head and grinned down at her. "I'll be thinking about it, too."

Derek turned to go, and Penelope wasn't sure where the words came from, but she wished she could take them back as soon as she blurted them out. "JJ thinks you're hot for Prentiss."

Derek turned back around. "Prentiss?" He laughed at the notion as he shook his head. "She's not curvy enough for me."

"She's like a freakin' hourglass!" Penelope said in disbelief.

"An anorexic one," Derek said distastefully. "I like my hourglasses…lush," he said, his eyes falling on her chest.

Penelope could feel her cheeks flaming as her nipples hardened beneath his gaze. He lifted his eyes to hers. "Good night, Penelope."

Before she could say anything, he was gone.

* * *

"This is ridiculous," Emily said as she moved to stand in front of him. "We've barely begun dating and already you're withholding sex from me."

Reid didn't say anything, just leaned to the side so he could see past her to the television.

"Reid!"

"What?" he asked distractedly.

"So you're just…_not_ gonna sleep with me?" she asked. "How can you do that?"

Reid sighed and gave up, using the remote to turn the television off. "Emily, I've been _not_ having sex for years. I'm used to it."

"So, what you're saying is…I wasn't good enough in bed to hold your interest?" she asked uneasily. Reverse psychology was cheap, but she wanted him, so it was worth a shot.

"That is _not_ what I'm saying," he argued.

"It's what you're implying."

"Emily, you know the deal. Until we're officially _out_ as dating, this body is off limits."

"You mean having sex is," she clarified.

"Yes," he said with a nod.

"So, _I_ can do things to _you_," she said, lowering her voice. She watched as he swallowed past the lump in his throat.

"Like what?" he asked, his gaze unwavering. He couldn't even blink.

She stepped forward and lifted her knee, putting it on one side of his waist, then did the same with the other so she was straddling him on the couch. "You'll see," she whispered, lowering her lips to his.

But when he lifted his face to hers, she moved to the side with a laugh, then reached for the buttons on his shirt, opening them one by one. She ran her hands over his chest and leaned down, placing a string of kisses over his flesh, earning her a hiss. When she was finished, she stood up, then knelt down in front of him and spread his legs, moving between them.

"Emily…"

"What?" she asked as she unbuttoned his pants.

Instead of answering, he lifted his hips and she pulled his pants and boxers down so they were just above his knees. His erection sprung free and she frowned.

"I can't _believe_ you won't let me have that," she said with a pout.

Reid laughed, but he couldn't help it—he loved that she wanted him so badly.

Emily lowered her head between his legs, her tongue darting out to taste him.

Reid tilted his head backwards so it rested on the back of the couch. He closed his eyes, letting the feel of Emily's mouth on him shroud his entire body.

When her lips closed around him and she began moving up and down his length, his hand tangled in her hair, giving it a rough tug.

"Reid," she rasped.

"Sorry," he said halfheartedly.

"It's OK," she told him. "I liked it."

She returned to her task, her mouth surrounding him once again and sucked hard—that was all it took. To her surprise, Reid came immediately and she used her tongue to lap around his length, swallowing every last drop of him.

When she lifted her eyes to his, he grinned sheepishly. "No one's ever…" Reid's voice was higher than normal, and he cleared his throat. "That was a first for me," he admitted.

She grinned back at him. "You were _great_ at it," she said teasingly.


	9. Chapter 8

Emily let herself in through Reid's front door and placed a paper bag on the kitchen counter before walking further into his apartment. "Reid?" she called.

When she heard the shower running, she made her way into the bathroom and stood in the doorway, a huge grin on her face as she listened to Reid's high pitched voice as he sang along with the radio.

"_Hey, soul sister…ain't that mister mister…on the radio, stereo…the way you move ain't fair you know…"_

That was when she threw the shower curtain back. "Hey, Reid," she said in amusement.

Reid…screeched. "Em! What are you doing here?"

But she laughed. "Oh, no, no, no," she said shaking her head. "I think the bigger question is…what are _you_ doing singing Hey, Soul Sister?"

Reid grinned back at her. "You know I like to sing in the shower," he reminded her.

Of course she did. She'd woken up that way for a solid month…until he'd stopped staying at her apartment. He still wasn't putting out, and it was too _hard_—pun intended he'd assured her—to spend the nights with her and not sleep with her. She'd, of course, suggested they just start sleeping together, but Reid was a hell of a lot more difficult to break than she'd thought he was going to be.

And the thing that shocked her most was that even _without_ the sex, she couldn't get enough of him. She loved just _being_ with him…whether they were cuddling on the couch while watching a movie or cooking dinner together in the kitchen. She always had fun with him. And he laughed at all of her jokes, even the lame ones…and she _knew_ she cracked some lame ones.

And his kisses…sweet Lord! He claimed not to have a lot of experience, but she never would have guessed if hadn't told her. Every time he kissed her, it was like he was kissing her for the first time. She'd never had that with anyone before.

Her grin widened. "_Hey, soul sister, I don't wanna miss a single thing you do…tonight." _She finished the chorus for him, then shrieked in surprise when he stepped forward and grabbed her face with his wet hands, pulling it to his.

Reid's tongue plunged forward into her mouth, wildly searching for hers as his arms dropped from her face to wrap around her upper body and pull her chest against his. Emily couldn't move; her hands were frozen to her sides, but her tongue seemed to have a will of its own, moving against Reid's with urgency. She whimpered as he pulled her against him, every nerve ending tingling from just his kiss. It wasn't a wonder she was so desperate to have him inside of her again. She finally found her train of thought and lifted her arms around his neck, her hands tangling in his wet hair. When he stepped back, his eyes were filled with yearning.

"Aaaaaand that's my Emily quota for the day," he joked.

Prentiss looked down at her t-shirt—it was soaked. "You always get me so wet," she teased with a laugh.

Reid groaned as he turned the hot water off. "Stop saying stuff like that before we have to stop spending our _days_ together, too." He pulled the shower curtain closed once again and Emily couldn't help but laugh on her way out of the room.

* * *

Penelope shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. He did this all the time…sat across the table from her in meetings and just…ogled her. Her cheeks would inevitably begin flaming, and when someone would ask her what was wrong, somehow she'd manage to stutter out that she was just fine. Ask _him_ a question, on the other hand, and he'd be able to answer with flying colors. His _eyes_ may be on her, but his _mind_ was clearly on his work. _That_ made her mad. If he was so horny to get into her pants, shouldn't she be on his mind constantly…like he was on hers?

Ever since that night a month ago, when he'd told her…ok, so it had felt more like he'd _promised _her…that they were going to end up in bed together, she hadn't slept through the night. Unless, of course, it had been preceded by a trip to the bar with the girls. Erotic dreams had been her constant companion, and while she didn't mind having naughty dreams about Derek, the fact that the real thing was within arms length every day was disconcerting. Because for crying out loud, she was afraid he was right. It was only a matter of time before she reached out and grabbed him.

"Penelope?"

She looked up at Hotch's voice. "Yes?" she squeaked.

"Can you get that information for me, please?"

She stood up. "Absolutely, sir." She walked to the door and turned around before leaving. "What information was that again?" she asked. Penelope was mortified. And _this _was exactly why coworkers should never be involved.

* * *

"You gonna miss me?" Derek asked as he walked into Penelope's office.

"Yeah," she said distractedly. "Like I miss the flu."

Derek chuckled. "Nice," he said. "I'm driving you so crazy, you can barely stand it."

Penelope's fingers hovered mid keystroke as she lost concentration. "You are _so_ full of yourself," she muttered.

He sat down next to her keyboard. "Do you wanna be?" he asked, his voice lowering.

Clearly he wasn't going to leave until he was good and ready, so Penelope was just going to have to play along. She sighed. "Do I wanna be what?" she asked in a bored tone.

"Full of me?"

Penelope's eyes widened as she lifted them to Derek's. She flew up out of her chair. "That was…_naughty_!" she scolded him breathlessly.

He grinned at her and she picked up the newspaper on her desk and slapped his arm with it. "Get out of my office!" she told him. "First the meeting, and then _this_!" she hissed. "You are giving me so much grief—"

Derek's eyes filled with mock innocence. "I didn't even say anything in the meeting!" he exclaimed.

Penelope rolled her eyes. "Yes, but…you look at me with those…lusty eyes! And I lose my train of thought, and then you just…sit there smirking and…it drives me insane!"

"You spend an _awful_ lot of time watching me," he teased.

"Well you're not hard to look at!"

Derek's lips twitched in amusement.

"Aren't you going wheels up in like…?" She looked at her clock. "Five minutes?"

He nodded. "Wanna make the most of them?"

"Yes," Penelope snapped, slapping him on the arm with the newspaper again. "Now get out of here so I can!"

Derek grinned as he stood up. "Surrender builds character," he taunted her.

"So does celibacy!"

"But it's not as fun," he said lowly.

"Good bye, Derek!" she said.

"Bye, Baby Girl."

"It's _Garcia_!" she yelled at his retreating back.

* * *

Penelope usually hated it when the team was on a case, but this time she couldn't help but be relieved they were gone. Between not sleeping at night and being under Derek's scrutinizing gaze every day, she was exhausted. So after searching high and low for the information Hotch had requested, Penelope lifted her feet up onto her desk and closed her eyes. For just a second. But she almost fell over in her chair when her phone rang.

"Hello?" she said breathlessly.

"Hey, Garcia. You OK?"

"Of course I am. Why would you ask that?" Penelope asked.

"Because you said 'hello.'"

"Yeah." Penelope was confused now.

"Well, you didn't tell me that you were my oracle of information, or my all knowing tech analyst," JJ explained.

"Sorry," Penelope muttered.

"What's keeping you up at night?" JJ asked.

"Nothing," Penelope said quickly. "What can I do for you?"

JJ took a deep breath. "It's the Reaper."

Penelope gasped, and it took her a moment to gather her wits. "As in…The _Boston _Reaper?" she asked.

"Yes," JJ whispered.

Everyone in the bureau knew who 'The Boston Reaper' was. He was a serial killer in the mid to late 90's that had terrorized the city only to stop abruptly for no apparent reason. To think that he could be back now was devastating!

Any relief Penelope had been feeling was gone…she was wound tighter than a drum.


	10. Chapter 9

_Author's Note: FYI—There are spoilers for the episode Omnivore in this chapter. If you haven't seen it, you might want to find a synopsis as I'm not going to go into detail about what happened; I'm just going to take the parts that will fit my plot and use them. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the chapter!_

"What's going on with you and Reid?" Derek asked as he drove the SUV to the scene where The Boston Reaper had chosen to commit his next murders.

"What do you mean?" she returned, forcing her voice to remain even.

"Come on, Prentiss. I'm not blind."

"Look, Derek—"

"You're jealous of him."

Disbelieving laughter bubbled up Emily's throat. "Excuse me?" she asked.

"He's trying to up his game, and you have a problem with it. Everyone knows you're territorial, Prentiss," Derek remarked.

He was so wrong that Emily almost told him she was dating Reid just so she could rub his face in it. But she wasn't ready for that yet. For now, she liked what she had with Reid. And she liked that they were the only ones in on it.

"What do you mean, 'he's trying to up his game?'" she asked.

"You really haven't noticed?" Derek asked.

"Noticed what?" she asked. Now she was getting frustrated. If there was one thing Emily Prentiss hated, it was being the last to know.

"It _used _to be that I was the first one in, and you were always second—right behind me. Notice anything different lately?" he asked.

Emily thought for a minute, then gritted her teeth to keep from speaking. She. Was going. To Kill. Reid.

* * *

It had been a long couple of days. First, a young couple had been killed on the side of the road, then an elderly couple, followed by a city bus full of innocent passengers. The Reaper was relentless. The team was regrouping—gathering together at the local police station to brainstorm. "We're missing something," Morgan said.

"Let's go over it again," Hotch said. "What do we know?"

"We know that he likes younger women," Prentiss said.

"We know that he likes to kill them with knives as opposed to the guns he uses to kill men," Reid threw in.

"Something just isn't sitting right with me about George Foyet. If you come that close to losing your life, and you're _that_ scared of it happening again, why don't you leave town? Why do you insist on staying?" JJ asked. "And why on _Earth _would you turn down police protection?"

"So that you could be in on what's happening with the investigation," Reid said. "If he stays, he's able to keep up and if the Reaper _does_ reappear, then he'll know."

"George Foyet had a list of aliases that he was using. Hotch, do you still have that list?" Morgan asked.

Hotch pulled the list out of his pocket and handed it to him.

"I'm gonna call Garcia," he said, standing up as he opened his cell phone.

"Grim Central," Penelope answered blandly.

"Garcia? You OK?" he asked.

"Like you care," she said. He could practically hear the pout in her voice.

He chuckled. "What's going on?"

"You guys are tracking The Reaper! You know if I don't hear from the team for hours on end, I'm gonna freak out! And yet for the last twelve—that's right—_twelve _hours…I haven't heard from any of you. Do you know what that does to my heart?"

"Well, the last thing I want to do, Garcia, is break your heart," he said teasingly.

Penelope sighed. "Don't play games, Morgan! This is serious."

"You're right. It's serious. From now on, I'll make sure you get called at _least_ every two hours," he promised her.

"Thank you," she said primly.

"You're welcome. I need you to look up some names for me," he told her, getting back to the topic at hand.

"Sure."

* * *

"George Foyet is The Reaper," Morgan said as he snapped his phone shut.

"What?" Hotch and Prentiss asked in unison.

"I had Garcia look up the names he was using, and every single one of them had worked as some sort of teachers assistant. Who was fired for engaging in inappropriate behavior with young girls," he informed them.

Hotch stood and began barking commands. Morgan was ordered to take three of the local officers to one of Foyets' addresses, Prentiss was ordered to do the same at a second location, and Hotch would take Reid, JJ, and another local to the last location.

* * *

"Clear!" The location had been OK'd, and Derek lowered his gun with a sigh. If they didn't catch this guy soon, he was going to take out half of Boston. He caught a shadow out of the corner of his eye before he had the wind knocked out of him when he took a shoulder to the abdomen. Everything went black as he flew backwards through the picture window and landed on the front lawn.

* * *

Derek rolled the bullet around in his fingers while the EMT used tweezers to pull the glass from his shoulder. "He could have killed me, Prentiss," he said somberly. Instead, George Foyet had chosen to leave the bullet on his chest while he'd been unconscious.

"He didn't," Emily said fiercely; she wasn't sure what else to say.

Derek sighed.

"They got him," Hotch said as he walked into the room.

"Bastard," Derek said. "He stole my credentials. Did they find _them_?"

Hotch shook his head. "Not yet."

"Great," Derek said angrily.

* * *

The flight had been long and the conversation had been nil. No one had anything to say. The Reaper had finally been caught, and that was enough. But everyone was exhausted when they got off the plane and walked into the BAU. "Paperwork can wait until Monday," Hotch said. "None of us are likely to forget what happened." With that, he disappeared into his office and shut the door.

"Thank _God_!" Penelope said as she practically flew out of her office. She stopped beside Derek, making sure to get a good look at him without actually looking at him. "You guys are all OK," she said softly.

"Garcia, what are you still doing here?" JJ asked in surprise.

"I thought that we could all use a drink," she said. "Or you know, ten."

"Good night," Hotch said as he walked out of his office and headed for the elevator.

"Night, Hotch," Reid said.

"I could use a drink," JJ said.

"I could use a few rounds," Derek agreed, standing.

"I just wanna jot some notes down before I leave," Prentiss said.

"Me, too," Reid agreed.

"So we'll see you at the bar in a bit?" Penelope asked.

They both nodded.

"Good. Let's go," she said to JJ and Morgan.

* * *

Prentiss rounded on Reid as soon as the elevator doors closed to take Morgan, JJ, and Garcia to the lobby. "I don't need you to take care of me!" she said angrily.

"What are you talking about?" Reid asked confused.

Prentiss laughed harshly. "I didn't even realize it until Morgan pointed it out."

"I still don't know…" Reid's voice trailed off.

"You're watching out for me, Reid. Trying to protect me! I've always been one of the first ones in when we go to a crime scene, and now, you've somehow managed to elbow your way in front of me as if I need you to take care of me. I _don't!"_ she said hotly. "And…see. _This_ is exactly why people who work together shouldn't get involved!"

Reid put his hands in his pants pockets as he cleared his throat. "So…hey," he said cautiously. "I had a meeting with Hotch a couple weeks ago. As it turns out, my brain is in great shape. Seems I could be more assertive in the field." There was a short pause. "Still haven't worked my way up to kicking down the door, but I'm working on it."

Emily sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah," Reid said doubtingly. "So, if you're done trying to find reasons for us to _not_ be together, I'm tired. I'm going home."

"Reid…"

"I've been thinking for three days, Em. I'm tired. I don't wanna think, and right now, anything you say is just gonna _piss_ me off. So save it until I'm better rested, OK?" He grabbed his go bag off his desk and made his way to the elevator. When the doors didn't open quickly enough, he took the stairs.

* * *

"Whoa! _What_ are you doing?" Penelope asked as Emily approached the table with three shots of Tequila and a glass with some lemon wedges inside.

"Catching up," Emily said dryly as she lifted an eyebrow at her friend. "That OK with you?" she said.

"That is _fine_ with me," Penelope said. For some reason, Emily was spoiling for a good fight and Penelope wasn't about to give her one. She watched as her friend licked her wrist, shook some salt on it, licked it again, and then took her shot of tequila followed by a lemon wedge. She repeated the process twice more. "I'm gonna dance," she said when she was finished.

"Well…there," JJ said.

"What got her panties in a bunch?" Penelope asked.

Derek shrugged. "I'm not sure," he said, taking a swallow of beer.

Thank God the music was loud because Penelope winced when she looked at his arm. She couldn't see his wounds, but she was sure they were sore.

"The Reaper got to all of us," JJ said.

Derek grinned half heartedly. "Got my boxers in a bunch," he admitted teasingly.

Penelope laughed and JJ gave her a strange look. Penelope _never_ laughed at anything Morgan said.

"Oh, look. Emily found a dance partner," JJ said with a laugh.

"Maybe she's looking to win a bet," Derek said dryly.

Penelope frowned. "I doubt it. Looks like Emily's trying to get laid. According to our bet, she needs to go out with someone five times before she can win."

Derek rolled his eyes as he took a swallow of beer.

"What?" Penelope asked.

"It just seems to me that if someone wants to get laid, she should just go out and try to do _that_. What's the point in dating if you're just horny?" Derek asked.

"They're just…the rules!" Penelope said.

"So, what do you have to do if you lose this bet?"

"I am _not_ going to answer that," Penelope said, her cheeks flaming. She sure as hell wasn't going to admit that she had to ask him out on a date if she lost.

"That bad, huh?"

"You have no idea," she muttered.

"Oh, hey! There's my husband!" JJ said as she stood. "I'm gonna get him on the dance floor."

Reid never showed up, and Penelope and Derek sat at the table for a few hours, making small talk. It was new to them—they'd never done that before. But they seemed to be good at it; they were both engrossed in conversation when Emily walked up to the table.

"Hey. I'm leaving," she announced.

"Where are you going?" Penelope asked in surprise.

"Home with…" She pointed to the man she'd spent the last few hours with on the dance floor and chatting at the bar. "Him."

"Who in the hell is that?" Penelope asked.

"Mr. Right Now," Emily said.

"Em—"

"I'm a big girl, Garcia."

"Call me in the morning or I'm going to come looking for you."

"Gotcha," Prentiss said as she grabbed Derek's beer and finished it off. Then she disappeared.

* * *

Penelope closed her phone and then collapsed onto her couch. It was two in the morning, and Prentiss still wasn't answering. She was going to kill her friend the next time she saw her. She sighed as she picked up her remote and turned the television on, glad to find an old episode of Whose Line Is It Anyway? She'd been watching for a few minutes when there was a pounding on her door. "Thank _God!_" she muttered, opening the door. "Oh," she said in a small voice. "You're not Emily." But she couldn't say she was really surprised.

Derek shook his head. "Nope. Definitely not Emily," he agreed.

"You're on the other side of this door an awful lot lately," she said.

He nodded as he lifted his hand. He placed it on the area of her chest just below her neck and gave her a soft push backwards. "You said I was horrible in bed," he reminded her.

Penelope winced. "Sorry about that," she muttered.

"I think I deserve a change to prove you wrong."

Penelope blinked in surprise. "But…I just rescinded."

"But you didn't mean it," he said.

"Look, Morgan…you…you're emotions are heightened…because you could have been killed today. And…ok, so…maybe I'd like to, but I _won't_ take advantage of you while you're emotions are running high!" she said.

Derek laughed harshly. "Take advantage of me?" he asked. "Penelope, I've wanted to fuck you for so long, I don't' think that's even possible."

She supposed it might have turned some women off to have it put so blatantly. It made _her_ insides quiver. He'd _wanted_ her for so long? Penelope was left with no other choice. She grabbed his shirt and pulled him to her, lifting her lips to his in a frenzied kiss.


	11. Chapter 10

"I went home with someone else tonight," Emily blurted out as soon as Reid opened the door.

He sighed. "That _sounds_ like you," he said dryly.

"Aren't you mad?" she asked.

"Are you _trying_ to make me mad?" Reid shot back instead of answering.

Emily didn't say anything, just stood there staring at him. She _hadn't_ been trying to make him mad, but was surprised by his composure anyway. He never ceased to amaze her.

"You're not going to scare me away," he said softly.

"I'm not trying to scare you away," she said shortly.

Reid shrugged. "OK," he said indifferently.

"I'm _not_," she insisted.

He nodded. "OK," he repeated.

"Right. Except that you don't _mean_ OK. Reid, I am _not_ trying to scare you away."

"Sure you are," he argued.

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "And why would I want to do that?"

"Because _you're_ scared."

"I'm—"

"Let me answer you," Reid said firmly.

She didn't say anything, just gave a single nod.

"You like me. A _lot_. You're probably even in love with me, but ya won't admit it. And…that's OK. I'm sure your divorce was hard on you…you take everything on, so of course you think everything that went wrong with your marriage was your fault. That if you'd done some things differently, then maybe you'd still be married. You haven't forgiven yourself yet. For perceived wrongs."

Emily didn't say anything. It astounded her how well he knew her…even though he was a profiler and even though she tried to hide parts of herself, she was still surprised. He was able to read her like a book. "Well, you might be right," she muttered.

Reid laughed at her expression. "Are you gonna come in?"

"Are you gonna let me spend the night?" she asked.

Reid sighed as he turned around and headed for his bedroom. "Come to bed, Em," he said as he yawned.

Emily walked in and closed the front door behind her, following Reid. He had already crawled back underneath the covers, so she kicked her boots off and crawled in next to him.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him. "Did you kiss him?" he asked softly.

"He _tried_ to kiss me," she admitted.

"What do you mean…tried?"

Emily cleared her throat. "I gagged."

"That's my girl," Reid said with a laugh.

It was silent for a few minutes, and Emily thought he'd fallen back to sleep. "Em?"

"What?"

"Go take a shower," he told her.

"Why?"

"I can _smell_ him on you."

Emily sighed, but crawled out of bed and headed for the shower. She figured she'd done enough damage for one night. When she stepped out, her clothes were gone; in there place was one of Reid's t-shirts. She pulled it over her head and then crawled into bed next to him. "Better?" she asked.

"At least you smell like me now," he said, pulling her against him.

* * *

His kisses were making her dizzy, and she couldn't think clearly. "No! No, no, no," she said, trying to push him away. It wasn't easy, so she moved her head to the side forcing him to stop kissing her. "You…are emotionally charged right now. Everything you're feeling is heightened, and—"

"Penelope, I am in perfect control of my emotions. And the only part of me that his heightened…" Derek grabbed her wrist and guided her hand to the fly of his pants. "Is right here."

Penelope groaned. Sweet Lord, even through his pants that erection was pretty damn impressive. "Morgan, I don't know if I can let you—"

Derek laughed harshly. "Oh, Darlin'," he said lowly. He had a predatory gleam in his eyes as he moved towards her once again—slowly and deliberately. "_Let_ me? You're gonna _beg_ me."

Penelope sidestepped him and then took a few paces back, until her heel hit the bottom of her stairs and she stumbled backwards. She would have been sprawled out on the steps if Derek's arms hadn't shot out to catch her. She stared up at his face unblinking. She was too surprised to even breathe, but she finally spoke. "Let go of me," she whispered.

Derek stood up, pulling her with him and then dropped his arms to his sides.

"My bedroom is this way," she said as she turned and made her way up the stairs with Derek right behind her.

When she reached her bed, she spun around and Derek crashed into her sending both of them backwards onto her bed. His lips found hers immediately, his kisses rough and urgent. When he pulled his lips from hers and moved to her neck, Penelope seized the opportunity to set something straight. "Wait, wait, wait," she said pushing him away.

"What?" he asked angrily.

"All I want is sex," she told him.

He studied her for a minute, as if waiting for her to continue.

"I just say that because…some men can't handle it. _All_…I _want_…is _sex_," she said again.

"Darlin'," he said. "Sweeter words have never been spoken."

She nodded. "Good," she said breathlessly. "Then…carry on."

He reached for her button up and was so desperate to be with her, he fumbled with the first few before he got them open. _That_ had never happened to him before.

"For God's sake, Morgan!" She pushed his hands away and reached for her shirt. Pulling with all of her might, she sent the remaining buttons flying around the room. "There," she breathed.

Derek lifted an eyebrow at her and grinned. "Fuckin' hot," he said.

Penelope laughed as she reached for the hem of his t-shirt. She pulled it up as far as she could with him on top of her, then he sat up so he was straddling her and pulled the rest of it off. Penelope lifted her upper body off the mattress and shrugged out of her shirt, then awkwardly reached around so she could undo her bra. She'd barely finished when he grabbed the straps and pulled it off her, sending it flying across the room to join the buttons, she was sure.

His head descended immediately to her chest, his tongue darting out to tease her nipple. She grabbed his shoulders and sunk her nails into his skin. "Oh," she moaned.

With a laugh, Derek moved to the other one as if he couldn't get there fast enough. He kissed his way up the middle of her chest again and while his lips were working her neck, he swore as he felt pain in his shoulder.

"Sorry," Penelope said with a wince. She really hadn't meant to _bite_ him.

"Oh," he said with a groan, lifting his gaze to hers. "Baby girl likes it rough."

"Baby girl just _likes _it," she informed him.

Every word that was coming out of her mouth just made him throb even harder for her. "We have too many clothes on," he decided aloud as he stood up. Penelope followed suit and they both rushed to get out of the rest of their clothes. She was first, so she watched as he stepped out of his pants and then pulled his boxer briefs down. Her eyes widened at the sight of his erection. "There is…_no_ way I'm gonna be able to take all that," she breathed.

"Darlin', I'm about to get you so wet, you could take two of me."

* * *

Derek plunged two fingers inside of her and heard her gasp in pleasure. Sure enough, she was wet for him. He moved his fingers back and forth, in and out of her while he watched her face. She'd thrown her head back with a moan, and his eyes landed on her throat…practically calling to him. "Slippery when wet," he teased huskily.

"Enough," she growled. For God's sake, it felt like forever since his body had been taunting hers. He had touched every inch of her; and each nerve ending she had was tingling in anticipation. She didn't just want his hands anymore…she wanted all of him. He'd brought her to the brink more than once, only to pull back each time. But she knew that once he was inside of her, his control wouldn't be so easy to maintain. "Derek…"

The sound of his first name on her lips shouldn't have made that much of a difference, but it was the first time she'd ever called him that, and for some reason, it was an incredible turn on for him. He had a sudden need to be inside of her, so he pulled his fingers from her heat and moved so he was between her thighs.

"Thank _God,_" she said, lifting her arms so her hands rested on the back of his neck.

He entered her slowly, his lips coming down onto hers. He heard her wince when he'd pushed too far, and he tore his mouth away from hers. "It's OK," he said breathing raggedly. "We'll go slowly."

She nodded as she closed her eyes, her teeth biting into her lower lip. Penelope was by no means inexperienced; she'd been with plenty of men before Derek. But apparently, they'd all been average, and Derek was anything but. She took a deep breath as he pulled back and then pushed forward again, gradually to allow her body to fit his. "You OK?" he asked.

She nodded again, her arms falling from his neck to grip the pillow on each side of her head. Penelope wasn't sure when the pain turned to pleasure, but when she couldn't stand it anymore—he was being _way_ too patient—her hips bucked up off the mattress and he filled her.

His hands found hers and he linked their fingers together as he leaned his forehead against her shoulder.

"I want more of you," she whimpered as he plunged inside of her.

She felt his warm breath on her shoulder as he chuckled. "Darlin', there isn't any more of me," he told her. "You've got all of me."

To her disbelief, it didn't seem to be enough, so she lifted her legs and locked her ankles around his waist, her hips lifting at a frenzied pace to take as much of him as she could as fast as she could. When Derek let go of one of her hands and reached down to find her center, it was Penelope's undoing. She cried out and he continued to move in and out of her, the pace of his fingers matching his thrusts perfectly. Her entire body tightened and she felt him stiffen, too as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"Penelope," he said thickly as they collapsed onto the mattress together.

Her strength was gone, and they lay there for a few minutes before she could speak. "How long before you're ready to go again?" she finally asked.

He switched positions so his erection was resting on her thigh.

"Oh," she said appreciatively.


	12. Chapter 11

She was a coward; she _knew_ she was a coward. She'd been hiding out in her office all morning. She'd barely torn her eyes away from her computer screen, afraid that if she looked out into the bullpen she might make eye contact with Derek.

Why, oh why had she slept with him? Oh right, because his kisses practically made her drunk, and because he'd woken up in Boston with a bullet on his chest instead of through his head and while he seemed to have made his peace with it, _her_ adrenaline was still pumping at the thought of what _could_ have happened to him.

But still…what kind of idiot slept with the same guy she claimed to detest? _The same kind of idiot who has to make a bet in order to motivate herself to get laid, _the little voice inside of her head reminded her. "Shut up," she muttered.

"Excuse me?"

Penelope spun around in her chair at the sound of Reid's voice. Thank _God_! She was actually sick of her computer screen. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean _you_, Reid. This little voice inside of my head won't shut up."

Reid grinned as he sat down next to her. "What's it saying?" he asked.

"Trust me…if I told you, you'd blush."

Reid laughed. "Yeah. Better not to know, then. So…how's the bet going?"

"Not very good, Reid!" she admitted.

"Why not?"

"Let me rephrase that. It's not going good on _my_ end. But you missed a fun time at the bar the other night. When Emily showed up, she had a bee in her bonnet. I'm not sure what exactly set her off, but _something_ did. So she had like…four shots of tequila in two minutes, and then went home with this hottie she met on the dance floor."

Reid shifted uncomfortably, but she didn't notice.

"I tried calling her all night, and it went straight to voicemail. Well I finally got a hold of her the next _night_. Her cell was dead and she didn't get home until then. She _says_ she didn't sleep with him but…I have my suspicions."

Reid sat there for a minute before speaking. "Anyone ever tell you that you have loose lips, Garcia?" he asked tersely.

Apparently whatever she had going on must have been pretty mind-boggling, because again, she hadn't noticed his body language or his tone.

She laughed breezily. "_She's_ the one who told you about the bet. I figure I owe her a spilled secret. Like she wouldn't have told _you_ anyway. She tells you everything." Penelope gasped as she turned around. "Did she tell you? Is that why you came in here? To dish?"

"No!" Reid exclaimed. "She did _not_ tell me anything. And…why would I want to hear about Prentiss's exploits in the bedroom?"

Penelope laughed. "I think the real question is…why _wouldn't _you? She's got some pretty good stories, Reid. One time—"

"I don't wanna hear it!" Reid practically shrieked.

Penelope laughed. "OK," she said. "But when you change your mind—"

"I won't," he assured her. He was pretty informed about Emily's prowess in the bedroom, thank you very much.

"You know, you're really turning into a prude, Reid," she informed him.

"Yeah, I'm OK with that," he said. There was a short pause before he spoke again. "So, speaking of the bet…what ah…" Reid cleared his throat. "Just out of curiosity, what does Em have to do if she loses?" he asked.

"Em?" Penelope asked in amusement. No one called her Em to her face. She _hated_ being called Em.

He grinned sheepishly. "I was too lazy to say Prentiss."

Penelope sighed. "She has this _gorgeous _diamond tennis bracelet that her ex-husband bought her that I've been eyeing for a long time. She loses, and it's mine. Why?"

"No reason," Reid said quickly. Thank _God_ her punishment wasn't that she had to ask him out. That was what he'd really wanted to make sure of. "What do _you_ have to do?" he asked curiously. Honestly, he didn't care. But when Penelope was analyzing this later, he didn't want the whole conversation to have revolved around Emily. God forbid Penelope put two and two together. _Em _would kill him.

Penelope laughed. "Uh-uh, Reid. I'm not telling you. You talk too much," she informed him.

"I can keep a secret!" he protested.

"Right," she said doubtfully. "Name _one_ secret you've ever kept."

His eyes narrowed. "You're trying to trick me, and it won't work."

"You're sharp as a tack, Reid," she said sarcastically.

But the thing was…_she _wasn't. Reid wondered what in the _hell_ was going on that Garcia was completely oblivious to his third degree regarding Emily. But he was willing to let it go. He'd been able to ask a lot more questions while Garcia was off her game. That was good enough for him.

* * *

She'd brought a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and an apple for lunch so she wouldn't have to refrigerate them. She didn't want to have to walk through the bullpen to the kitchen if she didn't have to. But now she had to go to the restroom; it was after one o'clock, and she'd held off for as long as she could. She stood up and looked out into the hallway, then sighed as she watched Derek enter Hotch's office and close the door behind him.

* * *

After one last look at her reflection in the mirror, Penelope straightened her skirt and then walked out of the bathroom. And wouldn't you know it…he was _waiting_ in the hallway for her.

"Are you avoiding me?" he asked.

She sighed heavily. "I just watched you walk into Hotch's office."

Her tone was so accusing that he couldn't hold back a grin. "Keeping tabs on me, Penelope?"

"You wish," she muttered.

"Why are you avoiding me?" he pressed.

"I'm not avoiding you. I'm just not actively seeking you out," she said with a defiant lift of her chin.

"What are you doing tonight?" he asked.

She gave him a look of disbelief. "Not you," she said cuttingly. She tried to just walk past him, but his hand shot out to capture her wrist and he spun her around so she was facing him.

"Wow," he said lowly.

"What?"

"You must have had all _kinds_ of fun if you can't even look me in the eyes," he said teasingly.

She lifted her gaze to his. "For your information, in the light of day, things looked…quite different."

Derek rolled his eyes. "Darlin', I was the best lay you've ever had."

Penelope's jaw dropped and it took her a moment before she could collect her thoughts again. So she snapped her jaw shut and straightened until she was standing as tall as she possibly could, and she thrust her finger against his chest. "For your information, I found Saturday night to be…quite mediocre," she informed him.

"And Sunday morning?" he asked with a lift of his eyebrow.

"The same," she muttered.

"Mediocre my ass," Derek hissed. "I've never seen a woman come so hard."

"Well then you must not be very good at reading women," she said, eyes blazing. "Because I wasn't coming…_that_ hard."

He stepped closer to her, using his body to push her backwards and trap her against the wall. The fact that her hand had turned into a fist that was clutching the front of his shirt hadn't escaped his attention. "Before you stand there trying to lie to a man, you might wanna pick someone to whom you haven't screeched out—at the _top_ of your lungs—'you're the best I've ever had.'"

Penelope didn't say anything. She'd forgotten about _that_ little incident. "I was trying to up your game," she informed him weakly.

He stepped back, allowing her body to relax. She looked down at her fist with an almost horrified expression then let her hand drop as if she'd just been burned. "My game is just fine on its own, sweetheart. I don't need a cheering squad. However, if you _do_ decide that you'd like to put on a pleated little skirt and a sleeveless belly shirt, let me know. I'd make one _hell_ of an audience." With that, he turned on his heel and strode away.

Penelope's eyes snapped up as she heard footsteps coming around the corner. One look at his face, and she knew he'd heard every word. Penelope's cheeks flamed.

"Garcia," Kevin Lynch said.

"Hi, Kevin," she said feebly.

Kevin grinned as he made his way into the men's room. Sweet Lord, this Behavioral Analysis Unit was a circus! The next time there was opening, he was definitely applying.


	13. Chapter 12

Emily had just finished filling her travel mug with coffee when there was a knock on her front door. She walked over, looked through the peephole, and then pulled the it open. "What are you doing here?" she asked. She wasn't sure whether to panic or smile.

"I just wanted to say good morning," Reid told her.

Emily grinned as she took a step towards him and placed a soft kiss on his lips. "Good morning," she returned.

"Oh," he reached into the bag that he had slung across his chest. "I also wanted to give you this." He pulled out a small box and handed it to her. It was long and white with a tiny red bow on it.

"What is this?" she asked as she took it.

"Open it," he told her.

Emily tilted her head to the side and smiled at him before pulling the top off the box. Her wide eyes met his in disbelief. "Reid," she breathed.

"Do you like it?" he asked hopefully.

"It's…gorgeous," she told him as she pulled the diamond tennis bracelet out of its box. "But…why..."

"Because I love you, Em."

If possible, her eyes opened wider. "I don't know what to say."

He gave her a lopsided grin. "I hear 'thank-you' is really popular," he teased.

"Not about the bracelet," she said quietly.

"Then don't say anything," he told her.

"Reid—"

"Say it back when you mean it," he said firmly as he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her waist. He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. "I'm not going anywhere, Em. I can wait until you're ready to say it." She didn't say anything for a minute. "Aside from being…absolutely crazy about you, I got you the bracelet to give you an out."

"A _what_?" Emily asked.

"An out," he said again. "Garcia spilled the beans. You have to give her your diamond tennis bracelet if she wins the bet."

Emily laughed. "That _sounds_ like Garcia."

"Is it because of your…ex-husband that you don't want to part with it?"

"Sort of," she admitted. "I...the bracelet that he gave me is _beautiful." _She tightened her grip on the one in her hand. "It's not as beautiful as this one, though. I _love_ the bracelet because it was a gift to my ex-mother-in-law from her husband. And they had a…great marriage. I was hoping it would wear off on Thomas and me." She laughed softly as she looked down at the diamond bracelet. "It never did."

"I'm sorry, Em," Reid said as he put a finger under her chin and tilted her head up so their eyes met.

"_I'm_ not," she said softly. "I like where I am at this _exact_ moment."

Reid let his arm drop back to her waist and tightened his hold on her. "I like where you are, too," he said huskily.

Emily smiled at Reid and wrapped her arms around his neck, her bracelet dangling between her fingers. "I'm gonna tell Garcia on Friday."

"Em, you don't have to—"

"I _want_ to," she said firmly.

"OK," he agreed. "But…why Friday?"

Emily laughed. "Because then Garcia can have the weekend to let it sink in and we won't have to endure so many questions. _And_ we can go away together. _Alone_. And _you_ can finally put out," she teased.

"Thank _God_!" Reid said in relief as his head tilted backwards. "You're nearly impossible to resist!"

* * *

Penelope practically skipped into the conference room where the rest of the team was having lunch. She stopped in the doorway and cleared her throat. "So…_who_ is the love of my life?" she asked.

JJ gave her a questioning look and Derek felt the unfamiliar feeling of jealousy surge up inside of himself.

"Oh!" Prentiss said, her feet falling to the floor as she pulled them down from the round table. "I _actually_ know the answer to this! Jon Bon Jovi!"

"Yes!" Penelope said as she walked further into the room. "And guess who just scored us floor seats to go see him?"

"You're kidding!" Emily said, eyes brightening. "When?"

"I got them on-line last night. Well, this morning actually," she said. "They went on sale at 12:01 a.m."

"I'm impressed," Emily said.

"That I was able to score floor seats to Bon Jovi with opening act Train?" Penelope said excitedly.

Prentiss laughed. "No. That you were able to wait until today to tell us." She had to bite her lip at the memory of Reid singing Hey, Soul Sister in the shower the other day. As her eyes met his, she saw his scowl and knew he knew what she was thinking.

He frowned. "We're going to see Bon Jovi?" Reid asked.

"_You're_ not," Penelope said. "This is for girls' night out. Me, Emily, and JJ."

"He has big hair," Reid pointed out.

"That was back in the late 80's. His taste has improved dramatically since then."

"_I_ love Bon Jovi," Derek announced.

All eyes flew to him.

He looked up from his French fries to Penelope. "My favorite album was Slippery When Wet."

Penelope pursed her lips to keep from saying anything, meanwhile praying that her flaming cheeks didn't give her away. Why, oh why had she slept with him?

"Ooooh, but I really liked their live album, too. One Wild Night. Have you heard that one?" he asked innocently. "Speaking of which, I can think of a _one_ wild night where—"

"Mmmm…I liked New Jersey. Great place. You should go live there," she interrupted quickly. What was _wrong_ with him?

"Oh…good. The fact that you're both on notice has worn off and things are back to normal," JJ said dryly.

Emily laughed. "When's the concert?" she asked.

"August 16th," Penelope answered.

Emily nodded. "Nice. I'm in."

"Me, too," JJ said with a grin. "Penelope? At a Bon Jovi concert? That is one sight that I am _not_ going to miss."

* * *

Penelope was chomping at the bit. Apparently Morgan was hell-bent on torturing her about their one night stand. While it was something she knew she shouldn't have done, she couldn't _quite_ regret it. It had been pretty fantastic, after all. But she needed to tell someone she'd slept with him. Emily was out because the bet was with her, and Penelope had _clearly_ violated the rules.

She didn't know if that meant that she automatically lost, but she wasn't about to feed Morgan's ego by asking him out. No. It was a much better idea to starve it.

And JJ was out because, well, this was a pretty juicy secret and there was no way she'd be able to keep it from Prentiss. It looked like the young doctor was her only option.

She looked out at the bullpen, and Prentiss and Morgan—she scowled at the thought of him—were concentrating on paperwork. A quick glance across the hall told her JJ was holed up in her office. She walked down the open corridor and into the conference room where Reid was going through some files. She closed the door behind her. "Reid, I have to tell you something. And…you have to swear that you won't tell anyone."

"OK, I'm not sure this is something—"

"I had sex. With Morgan. _Sexy_ sex. Like…in your face, bump and grind, fuck me hard…_sex_. Do you know what this means?"

"Yeah," Reid said. "You're sleeping with Morgan, you probably didn't go out five times first, and now you and Em can call this stupid bet off!"

Penelope frowned. "No. And…stop calling her Em. It's weird," she informed him. "I need to get away from Morgan for a little while. I need a place to hide," she said as she sank down into one of the chairs.

Reid looked around confused. "And a conference room with windows was the _best_ place you could come up with?"

Penelope sighed. "Reid, as long as there's someone else around, he'll leave me alone."

The door flew open and Derek stomped into the conference room. "Reid? A minute with Garcia, please?"

"For your information, Reid and I are in the middle of a _very _important conversation!"

Reid slammed the binder he was studying shut and stood. "Later," he said as he fled the room.

Oh, she was going to kill him! He slammed the door to the conference room and she flew up out of her chair.

"What are you doing?" she hissed. "Do you want everyone to start _speculating_?"

"I could care less what everyone else does," he informed her.

Penelope sighed. "Listen, Morgan—"

He lifted an amused eyebrow at her as he waited for her to continue.

"I'm sorry about what I said in the hallway yesterday, OK? It wasn't…mediocre."

"You think you have to tell _me_ that?" he asked, looking her up and down.

She shifted her stance under his perusal. "Probably not," she conceded.

He took a step towards her and she retreated backwards. "But it's not something that's ever. Going. To happen. Again."

His eyes darkened as he stalked towards her, forcing her backwards until she hit the wall. They weren't in front of the windows anymore, they'd moved to a more sheltered area of the room. "It's _gonna_ happen again," he said as he leaned down and kissed her behind the ear.

She inhaled sharply. He'd found that spot immediately the other night and it hadn't taken a genius to find out it was one of her favorite spots to be kissed. She put her hands behind her back and leaned into them. Hard. She was afraid they'd reach for him if she didn't.

"No it's not," she said weakly.

He straightened as he pulled away from her. "I'm gonna be at your front door tonight," he informed her. "Eight o'clock."

"I won't open it," she warned.

He shrugged carelessly. "That's OK. I'll kick the damn thing in," he said softly.


	14. Chapter 13

_Author's Note: These next few chapters will have major spoilers for Season Two. I just wanted you to be warned before you read. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the chapter!_

Penelope had been watching Emily like a hawk ever since she'd been cornered by Morgan in the conference room. Sweet Lord, she'd slept with him, and she still thought of him as Morgan. She couldn't bring herself to call him Derek…even in her own head. And she definitely could _not_ be at home tonight when he came calling. Because she wouldn't make him leave. No siree. She'd let him in. And not just her front door. Yep. He'd been _that_good. So good that while she might despise the man, she loved the body…his touch, his words, his…abilities. Penelope sighed. She was going to have to move. That's all there was too it. To an undisclosed location.

So when Emily finally left Reid's desk and made her way into the kitchen, Penelope was hot on her heels. She was so close that when Emily turned around after pouring her cup of coffee, she jumped. "Geez, Garcia. Perhaps you'd like me to put my cup down so you could jump up and straddle my waist."

"Sorry," Penelope said as she took a step backwards. She walked over to the table and sat down, sighing despondently. Emily didn't say anything, so she sighed again.

"Something wrong, Garcia?" Emily asked dutifully.

"Can I spend the night tonight?" Penelope asked.

Emily held back her _own_ miserable sigh. She'd just asked _Reid_ to spend the night. "Sure," she said awkwardly. "Why?"

"Because…there's a prowler in my neighborhood!" Penelope said desperately. "Mrs. Wiggles, my neighbor, just called me and Mister…Jumpsies apartment got broken into last night!" She nearly groaned at her ineptness at lying. If she'd taken the time to actually get to know her neighbors, she wouldn't have to make up these silly names. "There's no way I can stay at my own apartment, Emily!" She did her best to sound frantic and hoped she'd pulled it off.

"OK," Emily said.

"Great. And can you pick me up?" Penelope asked.

Prentiss gave her a weird look.

"Well, I don't' want the prowler to know I'm not at home! But also, I don't want to be there if he decides to pay me a visit." OK, so she wasn't actually lying to Emily. Prowler was code for Morgan. Emily just didn't _know_ that she consoled herself.

"OK."

"Great. And…can you not tell anyone about this? I don't want them to realize how much of a wuss I am," Penelope said. OK, so by _them_, she meant Morgan.

"Sure," Emily said. "But…Reid and I were going to…go to a bookstore tonight. Do I need to cancel so he doesn't see you at my apartment?"

Penelope nodded. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea," she answered.

Emily sighed. "OK," she said as she started to leave the kitchen.

"Hey," Penelope said.

Emily turned back around.

"How do you expect to meet someone if you're hanging out with Reid all the time?"

"I don't hang out with Reid _all_ the time," Emily said defensively.

"OK," Penelope muttered doubtfully.

* * *

"I need you guys in the conference room. _Now_," Hotch said as he made his way down the corridor.

Reid, Prentiss, and Morgan all dropped what they were doing and hurried to the conference room. Emily stopped at Penelope's office on the way by. "Conference room, Garcia."

Penelope sighed as she stood. "I swear if there are any grotesque pictures, I am going to quit."

Emily laughed. "You are _not_."

They walked into the conference room and grabbed the two empty seats—Emily sat down first between Hotch and Reid, forcing Penelope to sit down beside Morgan so she could see the flat-screen at the front of the room. She inconspicuously moved her chair away from him. The others were already engrossed in conversation, so he moved closer to her. So close that she could reach over and pinch his thigh. He yelped as she innocently looked the other way.

Hotch looked up. "Everything OK, Morgan?"

"Fine," he answered shortly.

JJ rushed into the room and picked up the remote on the television and flicked it on. Penelope flinched as the gruesome images filled the screen and then looked the other way. "Tell me when they're gone," she said shrilly.

"We're wheels up in twenty, so I'll make this quick." JJ informed them. "This is Dennis and Lacey Kyle. They were killed in their home in Georgia about an hour ago."

"An _hour_ ago?" Reid asked.

"One of the Un-Subs called the police," she explained to them. They all straightened at this bit of information and listened intently as she continued. They didn't have much information yet, just that one of the Un-Subs had called 911, they were killed because they were 'sinners,' there was major overkill, and it had all taken place within a matter of four and a half minutes.

"My God," Prentiss said in disbelief. "_Four _and a _half_ minutes?"

JJ nodded and Hotch stood. "See you on the plane."

Everyone hurried out of the conference room except for Prentiss and Reid. "So much for our sleepover," he joked.

"Yeah, that was a bust, anyway," she informed him.

"Why?"

She shook her head as she sighed. "Apparently there's a prowler on the loose in Penelope's neighborhood and she needed to spend the night with me tonight. But I did _not_ just tell you that. She made me promise I wouldn't tell anyone."

"You're breaking promises for me now?" he asked triumphantly.

She laughed. "Don't let it go to your head."

"It already has. I'm feeling incredibly…" Reid gave her his lopsided grin. "_Inflated."_

Emily sighed longingly. "Reid, honest to God…don't say stuff like that."

"Stuff like what?" he asked.

"Like…_that. _Body parts being…inflated and stuff," she said with a wave of her hand.

Reid chuckled. "Em? I was talking about my ego," he said softly.

"Oh," she said in a small voice. "OK, then."

With that, she left the room and Reid couldn't help but grin. She might not quite know the depth of her feelings for him yet, but he did. He straightened as a self-satisfied grin spread across his face. She had it for him. Bad.

* * *

Emily knocked on Penelope's door and walked in. "Here are the keys to my apartment. You'll have to take a taxi to get there."

"I don't need them," Penelope told her friend as she spun her chair around.

Prentiss frowned. "Just because I'm not going to be there doesn't mean you can't stay."

"Oh, no. It's not that. Mrs. Wigglesworth just called to tell me they caught him."

"You mean Mrs. _Wiggles_?" Prentiss asked.

"Right," Penelope said, cheeks blazing. "Mrs. Wiggles."

"Are you lying to me?" Emily asked shrewdly

"No," Penelope said with forced firmness. "Why would I lie about a prowler?"

"That's a good question."

Penelope sat there for a minute studying her friends face. "You better hurry up before you miss the plane," she said evasively.

Prentiss sighed. "Penelope Garcia, you are _keeping_ something from me!"

"I…am not keeping…anything from you." Of course, it would have been more convincing if her voice hadn't been so shrill.

Prentiss sighed. "This conversation isn't over," she said as she left her friends office.

Penelope turned back to her computer and went back to work. She was so engrossed in what she was doing that she didn't hear Morgan walk up behind her.

"Our little tete a tete will have to wait," he whispered into her ear.

Penelope shivered as his warm breath caressed her skin. "Pity," she returned.

He spun her chair around and crouched down in front of her. "You know what that means," he said lowly as he looked up at her.

She didn't say anything, just pursed her lips.

"If we're separated for days, I'll be harder than ever for you."

"Is that even possible?" she blurted without thinking.

Derek grinned at her. "You just keep on throwing down that gauntlet."

Penelope sighed. "Is there any way for me to pick it back up?" she asked miserably.

"No way in hell, baby girl."

"I am _not_ your 'baby girl.'"

"You got that right," he rested his elbows on her knees. He studied her face. "You're _all _woman."

She covered her face with her hands. "This is why you shouldn't fuck anyone you work with," she muttered.

"You _know_ that word turns me on," he reminded her.

"_Everything_ turns you on, Morgan," she shot back.

"That's not true," he argued as he straightened. "Just everything about _you_. So I guess I'll have to take a rain check for tonight. "

She gave him a look of disbelief. Was he _crazy?_

"Morgan!" they heard Reid yell.

He grinned at her. "Bye, darlin'."

Penelope groaned as he left her office.


	15. Chapter 14

**Author's Note: So, who else had to reread this whole story in order to get caught up? **_**I**_** had to read again so I could update! My sincerest apologies for the delay. The plan is to update once a week (or more, if I can) from here on out until this story is finished. Thanks to everyone who waited so patiently for an update, especially thehip-hopprincess and simplelove511 who have been eagerly waiting!**

**This is just a reminder that there are some spoilers for season two coming up over the next few chapters.**

**I hope you enjoy this installment of ****Upping the Ante, and again, I apologize for the delay in updating.**** - Angie**

* * *

A few weeks ago—hell a few _days _ago, if you'd asked him what he liked most, he'd have said his job. But a few days ago, Derek Morgan hadn't been between Penelope Garcia's thighs. Now that he had, work felt like a nuisance to him—a means to an end. They needed to get this case solved so he could see her—so he could get into her bed again. He was sure that if he could, then he'd be able to get her out of his system. And that's all he really needed to do. Get Penelope out of his system.

Maybe then he'd be able to concentrate on this damn case. Maybe then, he wouldn't be going to bed every night with a throbbing erection. Oh, he'd be hard, that was for certain. But at least he wouldn't be aching. He hissed as he remembered how tight she was—he could practically feel himself driving inside of her. His eyelids had started to drift shut at the memory when he was interrupted.

"You OK?" Prentiss asked. He'd been so lost in thought that Derek nearly jumped at her voice. She grinned at him. "What has you so distracted?" she asked.

"Nothing," he lied.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" she pressed.

"Yeah. I fuckin' hate that we don't know anymore about this guy than we did twelve hours ago," he informed her.

"Uh-huh," Prentiss said knowingly…smugly almost.

"I don't think I like your tone, Emily Prentiss," Derek said. She'd caught him off guard and he wasn't able to deflect her comments.

"Is your forehead sweating?" she asked in amusement.

"A little tact," Derek snapped. "We're at a crime scene!"

He walked away in a huff, and Emily had to hold back a chuckle. She'd never seen this side of Derek before, and she wasn't sure what was going on. But whatever it was that had his feathers ruffled…she liked it. She grabbed her phone when it rang and looked at the caller ID. She hit a two buttons before greeting the caller. "Garcia?" she said. "I've got you on speaker."

"Is there a burgundy couchy looking thing at your crime scene?" Garcia asked.

"Yeah, Baby Girl. There's a burgundy sofa-y thing on the opposite wall," Derek confirmed from across the room. "How did you know that?"

They heard Garcia clear her throat on the other end of the phone. "There's a live feed of your crime scene on the internet right now," she informed them.

* * *

"I bet we don't even have cell phone service out here," JJ said with a frown.

Reid nodded in agreement. "Spotty at best. It's OK—we won't be long." He pointed to the driveway up ahead. "Take the next right," he instructed.

JJ did as she was told then put the vehicle in park as she and Reid got out and headed for the house.

* * *

Penelope Garcia hummed to herself as she waited for the video to finish uploading. All was well in her world…the team was gone on a case…which, OK, usually had her sketched right out, but Derek was away which graced her with a much needed respite. It hadn't been long since they'd fallen into bed together, but she'd barely gotten a wink of sleep since. He was on her mind constantly. She was hoping against hope that out of sight was out of mind, but so far, that hadn't held true.

It certainly didn't help that he was practically stalking her at work, and of _course_ she had to pretend she didn't like it. This was Derek, after all. But secretly—and she would never say this aloud; in fact, she'd never allow herself to even _think_ this after this moment—but she was glad he was trying to get her into bed again. That meant that just like her, he'd felt a spark. Just like she had, he'd realized that this wasn't something that happened every day. Feelings? No. Definitely not…_definitely_ not. But sexual chemistry? Through the freakin' roof!

She sat down when her computer beeped to indicate that the video had completed its download, and then clicked on the screen so it would play. She gasped as the horror filled her screen.

* * *

Hotch and the rest of the team watched as the horrific scene played out before them on the computer screen. When he moved to turn it off, the detective spoke. "Wait," he said authoritatively.

"Haven't you seen enough?" Morgan asked in disgust.

"Those dogs…I recognize those dogs," he said, studying the screen closely. "They attacked someone not too long ago. We were going to bring them to the pound, but the person knew the owner and didn't want to press charges."

"Who was the owner?" Prentiss asked.

"Tobias Hankle."

"Reid and JJ. Dammitt," Hotch hissed, pulling his phone from the clip on his belt. He quickly used his speed dial for JJ, then for Reid. "Both of their phones are going straight to voicemail," he said. "We need to get out there."

* * *

Hotch was in one SUV with some of the local officers, leaving Prentiss and Morgan alone in the vehicle behind him. Emily seized the opportunity and cleared her throat. "Something going on between you and PG, Morgan?" she asked.

"What?" he said in surprise, looking away from the road momentarily.

Emily grinned widely. "When you called her 'baby girl' she didn't bite your head off. That's new."

"Well, a video of our crime scene on the internet is new," he pointed out. "I'm sure that if she wasn't so distracted with that, then she'd have bitten."

"Or would she have?" Emily pressed.

"You know what? She's _your_ friend. You know her better than I do. Maybe you should ask _her_ why she didn't bite my head off."

Emily couldn't hold back a chuckle. "The gentleman doth protest too much, me thinks," she said in amusement.

Derek shook his head. "If your thoughts are so far gone that you're speculating about me and Garcia—then you have way too much time on your hands," he informed her. "That is something that will _never_ happen."

"OK," Prentiss said, not convinced.

Derek sighed. "It. Will _never. _Happen," he repeated.

"And _I_ said, 'OK,'" Prentiss reminded him.

Derek refrained from pointing out that it wasn't _what_ she'd said, but the way she'd said it. That would make him sound too much like a chick.

* * *

"Clear!" Prentiss said a few minutes later as she entered one of the rooms at the Hankle house. She made her way down the stairs and outside to the cluster of other's who were on the scene. She looked around for Morgan and when she saw him heading towards a big barn out back, she took off at a jog to catch up to him. She followed him wordlessly into the barn.

They soundlessly made their way in when they heard a noise. They both stopped moving immediately in order to locate the noise.

"Freeze!" they heard.

"JJ?" Morgan said.

"I'll shoot!" the blonde communications liaison threatened.

"JJ!" Prentiss said loudly. "It's Emily."

JJ lowered her gun slowly. "Emily?" she whispered.

"JJ, where's Reid?" Emily asked, gently prying the gun from her friend's fingers.

JJ looked up, terror in her eyes. "I don't know."

Emily felt her stomach plummet all the way down to her toes.


	16. Chapter 15

**Author's Note: FYI—this chapter may seem to skim the episode that it reflects. That's because it's the aftermath I want to focus on, not the events of Tobias/Raphael holding Reid captive. But at the same time, I wanted to describe it in enough detail so that anyone who may not have seen it would understand what was going on. **

**On that note, thank you so much for the reviews for last chapter! They're very much appreciated as I love reading what you think!**

* * *

Reid heard himself groan as he tried to open his eyes; they felt so heavy. And his face…his face _ached._ His nose felt as if it was broken—but unfortunately he could still smell the sickening odor permeating the room. When he heard a creak as if a door was opening, he lifted his eyelids and immediately winced. The light—dim as it was—was still too much for his eyes. There was a sharp shooting pain in his head and his eyes closed once again. Oh, God. _JJ!_ His eyes flew open, followed by another groan, and he looked frantically around the room.

"It's just us," a voice said.

He looked towards the door and studied the figure standing there. "Tobias?" he asked nervously.

"Raphael," the voice corrected menacingly.

And that was when Spencer Reid realized just how much trouble he was in.

* * *

"Where the hell is he?" Derek said under his breath.

Prentiss shrugged. "I don't know," she returned quietly.

JJ was still frenzied from her run in with the dogs that'd been released on their last victim. She'd managed to take them all down, but her adrenaline was still pumping and she couldn't help but be on alert in case another one appeared. "You can't find Reid?" she asked anxiously.

Derek shook his head.

JJ inhaled sharply, and Prentiss was by her side in a second. "We'll _find_ him," she said firmly. But it was as much for _her_ as it was for JJ. If anything happened to Reid…

"Morgan! Prentiss!" they heard Hotch yell.

The three headed for their Unit Chief around the front of the house. Upon their arrival, Hotch immediately took in JJ's disheveled appearance."You OK?' he asked softly.

JJ couldn't speak, just nodded wearily.

"Do you need to rest?" he asked.

"I need to find Reid," she said with a defiant lift of her chin.

Hotch nodded curtly. She looked like she needed a respite, but like the rest of his team, she wouldn't catch a wink of sleep until Reid had been found. "We need to spread out. Gideon, a few of the local officers, and I have checked the house. He's not inside. We need to check the perimeter," Hotch commanded. "Morgan, Prentiss—" He rattled off orders and sent people on their way. "And whatever you do, _do_ not split up," he barked.

JJ winced at his words. Hadn't she said the same thing to Reid?

* * *

"Hotch, I think I got something," Morgan said into his communication device a few minutes later. The rest of the team-they were keeping close tabs on one another at this point-appeared immediately. "I think Reid followed him into the cornfield; it looks like somebody got dragged," Morgan explained, moving his flashlight along the disturbed soil at the edge of the cornfield.

Hours later, after a false lead, the team was no closer to finding Reid than they had been…they'd learned a lot about Tobias Hankle, though.

"Your job is to not let any one who's not one of us into this room," Hotch instructed, standing in front of a plethora of computer monitors. "It's time to call in the big guns."

Derek nodded, and then turned to look at his Unit Chief. "You mean Garcia, right?"

* * *

Penelope Garcia looked nervously out the window of the jet designated for the BAU. It didn't seem to be moving fast enough for her. She felt incredibly guilty now for even being grateful that the team was away on a case. She'd been welcoming the breather from Derek, but if it was at the cost of Reid being held by that creepy UnSub, then Derek could smother her for all she cared! She just wanted Reid back…safe and sound.

She hated being alone with all of these thoughts jumbled in her mind—she was tempted to join the pilot in the cockpit, but she didn't want to scare the crap out of him, land in the ocean, and possibly not make it out alive. Nope. Definitely not a good idea. She'd just stay where she was and continue tapping her toes and studying every nook and cranny on the jet.

* * *

A few hours later, Penelope wrinkled her nose as she stepped out of the SUV Hotch had been driving and looked around at the cluttered yard. "Are you sure this is the place?" she asked in disgust.

Hotch lifted an eyebrow at her. "This is the clean part," he informed her.

She wasn't sure she believed him until she stepped through the front door, and then winced at the sight that greeted her. "Oh, God," she said.

Derek was at her side almost immediately upon her arrival. "Come on," he said in a soft but firm tone. "I'll help you get set up."

* * *

After Penelope had gotten set up, they'd found nothing on the computer that was of help to them. It didn't take them long to realize that there was more than one logon to the system, and the second logon they hacked gave them what they were looking for—there were violent images on every screen, but with a single keystroke, those images disappeared and random people appeared. Each person was labeled with one of what had become commonly known as the seven deadly sins. Suddenly, the screen went black.

"What happened?" Morgan asked.

"I don't…" Penelope said anxiously, her fingers flying over the keys. She froze when the screens filled again…this time with a single image of Reid. "Oh, God," she whispered.

"Guys! Guys, get in here!" Morgan bellowed, his eyes not leaving the screen.

Penelope felt the room nearly shake when he yelled. Within seconds, the rest of the team appeared. "He's been beaten," Prentiss said needlessly.

"Can't you track him?" JJ half asked, half demanded.

"I…can't," Penelope said.

"Why can't you?" Gideon asked.

"He's rerouting to a different IP address every thirty seconds," she explained.

"I can't watch this," Prentiss said, practically sprinting from the room. Penelope flew up, quick to follow. Her chair would have fallen over had Derek not caught it.

* * *

Reid inhaled sharply as once again, 'Raphael' pulled the trigger with the gun aimed between his eyes. Again, Reid's body un-tensed slightly as no bullet came forth. He was prepared for his relief to be short-lived, as 'Raphael' seemed to enjoy taunting him. But he lowered the gun this time, insisting that Reid look at the computer screens and choose someone appearing on one of the monitors to die. He refused, angering Raphael, until finally, Reid gave in. With a stipulation…he'd choose who lived.

* * *

"Don't you need to be in there?" Emily asked when her friend walked into the bathroom just behind her.

"There's nothing I can do to track him," Penelope said softly, tilting her head to the side. "What's going on with you?"

"Everything OK?" JJ asked, walking into the room.

"Emily was just about to answer that," Penelope said pointedly, looking at her dark haired friend with a demanding expression.

When Emily said nothing, JJ spoke. "Emily, you compartmentalize better than anyone I know. This isn't you. _Talk_."

Emily took a deep breath and ran a hand through her hair. "I'm dating Reid," she whispered.

When neither of her friends spoke, she looked up desperately. "Oh, God," she said. "It's worse than I thought if it's rendered you two speechless!"

"No, honey. It's not that," Penelope assured her friend. "It's just that…well, _now_ I'm amazed at how well you've been keeping it together."

"He wouldn't sleep with me again until I told people about us—which I didn't want to do because I wanted to keep him to myself for as long as I could. And I'm not even sure he believed me! But it was the truth. I swear it was. He thought I was ashamed of him, but I wasn't—I'm not! And now he's in that…little room with that crazy bastard and…I never told him I love him. He told me…and I didn't tell him, so he probably thinks I don't. What if I never get the chance to tell him?" The words tumbled out of Emily's mouth before she could think twice.

Penelope's eyes widened and she swallowed past the lump in her throat.

"_Say_ something!" Prentiss ordered.

Penelope chewed the inside of her cheek nervously. "Come on," she said suddenly. "Let's go get him back!" She grabbed Emily's hand and pushing past JJ, pulled her from the bathroom.


	17. Chapter 16

**Author's Note: FYI—a couple of people have asked me if I'm going to include Reid's drug addiction in this story, and I'm not. This was originally meant to be a Garcia/Morgan fic, and after these few chapters with Tobias, I'm hoping to return to that with just sides of Prentiss and Reid. Including his addiction would make this story much longer than I planned for it to be, and I believe, given the right support system, things could have gone a different way for him. Hopefully Prentiss will prove to be his support in this story!**

**Thanks so much to those who took the time to review last chapter! I hope you like this one, too! ~ Angie**

* * *

Between his crafty clues and the teams quick thinking, it wasn't long before they'd put two and two together to find Reid. They were on their way out of the Hankle house when Penelope grabbed Derek's arm. He turned around and gave her a questioning look. "Derek?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah, baby girl?" he asked.

"Will you leave that…communication device thingy on when you go to get Reid?" she asked. "Please? I…I want to be able to hear. I…I have to know. No matter what, I have to know."

Derek's eyes softened and he nodded his head yes, then turned and sprinted for the sleek, black SUV that would take the team to Reid.

* * *

He had accepted his fate; he knew he was going to die—that there would be no one to take care of his mother…no one to visit her, no one to write her letters—to listen to her lecture on her favorite books. And Emily—he'd been a fool to shut her out. Not emotionally, but physically in order to gain the upper hand. He saw that now. She hadn't needed his manipulation; what she'd needed was his patience, and he hadn't given it to her. She'd been through a messy divorce, and instead of being understanding when she'd wanted to take things slow, he'd been petulant. If he could turn back time…

"I said _dig_!" Raphael commanded.

"I'm too weak," Reid said feebly, barely able to hold onto the shovel. Knowing he was digging his own grave didn't inspire strength.

With a growl, Raphael slammed the revolver he was holding down on the ground and jerked the shovel away from Reid. Reid helplessly stumbled backwards and seeing an opportunity, fell to his knees; the gun Raphael had been holding was within his reach. He stretched forward with a heavy grunt and seized the revolver. The noise immediately caught Raphael's attention and he turned to Reid. Reid was already pointing the gun at his head. Raphael lifted his arm and aimed back. "There's only one bullet in that gun, boy" he growled.

Without hesitation, Reid pulled the trigger and it hit his target in the chest. "God's will," he muttered.

* * *

"I heard that!" Penelope said frantically in Derek's ear, then after a moment, "What _was_ that?"

"Garcia," Derek hissed. "If you don't shut up, I'm going to have to turn this thing off! I can't concentrate with you rattling on!"

He heard her sigh and immediately regretted snapping, but it was true. And he desperately needed to focus right now.

"Holy shit," he said as they stormed the shed.

"What's that smell?" Prentiss asked in revulsion.

A gunshot caught their attention and all eyes flew to the northern area of the property.

"What was _that?" _Garcia asked frantically.

"Gunshot," Derek answered in a low voice.

"Gun…" She stopped short. "I'm sorry," she said quietly, not wanting to distract him.

* * *

She shouldn't be here; she knew she shouldn't be here. She should have told Hotch she wasn't able to think clearly. But she couldn't, because even more, Emily Prentiss couldn't bear the thought of not being there to find him—no matter what condition he was in.

They moved stealthily around to the back of the property; it was then she saw Reid's shadowy figure—tall, lanky…and standing. She nearly fell to her knees in relief.

She watched as Reid practically threw himself at Hotch, clutching the man tightly in a scene that made her breath catch. Next came JJ, still beating herself up for separating from him. She took a step forward and he shook his head almost imperceptibly. "Not here," he whispered.

"But—"

He turned his back on her to look at Hotch. "He shot me up with narcotics," Reid said quickly.

* * *

When they were certain Reid would be OK, the team headed back to the hotel to get some rest before leaving immediately upon his release the next day. Emily went to her room, quickly showered, and then returned to the lobby to wait for a taxi.

By the time she got back to the hospital, her temper was flaring…the shower she'd had hadn't served to hold back her anger. She made her way to the elevators and furiously hit the button that would take her to Reid's floor. She was so mad; she missed it the first two times, and had to focus on the third try in order to hit it. For God's sake, he hadn't even let her _hug_ him!

When she reached his room, she studied him in the hospital bed. Reid always looked frail, because…he was Reid. But she'd seen another side to him: his quiet strength. If you blinked, you could miss it. But she'd seen it, and it was the only thing holding her together now. They'd put the fluids to him, and while there was still a bit of the drug left in his system, Reid was no longer feeling its effects. As if he felt her stare on him, his eyes opened slowly, and he blinked a few times, trying to focus. "Em?" he said groggily. She reached into her bag and pulled out his glasses, approaching the hospital bed slowly to give them to him. He took them from her and put him on, and she sighed at the sight. He'd stopped wearing his glasses a few years ago after he'd discovered contacts, but she loved seeing them on him.

"You wouldn't let me even hug you?" she whispered, taking a few steps back.

"I didn't…want people to find out like that," he explained. "Not because—"

"Hotch and JJ hugged you," she reasoned.

"Em, I can't even _hug_ you the way I hug Hotch and JJ. It was easy to let _them_ go." He shook his head. "I'm not sure I would have been able to let _you _go. And…I didn't want people to find out like that."

"Like what?" she asked.

"I didn't want people to find out under _these_ circumstances. Not because you felt sorry for me, Em," he said, his tone almost pleading.

Emily's posture straightened and she lifted her chin defiantly. "For your information, Spencer Reid, I wasn't feeling sorry for _you!_ I was feeling sorry for _me_. I was feeling sorry because…I _do _love you back and I was so damn scared of saying the words aloud that I just pushed the feelings aside! And yes, when Hankle had you, I was scared to _death_ that I would never get to see you alive again. That I'd never get a chance to tell you that I _do_ love you, too! Because I _do _love you, Reid. I just…I just needed to be pushed off a cliff to say it!" She sighed in defeat. "But am I…am I too late?" she asked.

He studied her face for a moment, waiting. But she didn't move. "I can't come to you," he rasped, motioning to his IV.

It took a moment before the words sunk in, and when they finally did, she raced to his bedside and flung herself into his arms. He wrapped the one that wasn't hooked up to the IV around her and kissed the top of her head.

Monitors started going off and Emily sat up, studying them. "Your heart is racing," she breathed.

He grinned tiredly at her. "It always does when you're around, Prentiss," he informed her.

She smiled softly at him. "I like it better when you call me Emily," she said. "Or even Em."

"Then start calling me Spencer," he teased, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "Awww…Em," he breathed, leaning forward to press his lips to hers. "I was so glad to see you again."

* * *

Penelope had just brushed her teeth, scrubbed all the makeup off her face, and was crawling underneath the covers when there was a knock on her hotel room door. Thinking it was probably Emily needing to talk, she opened the door without looking through the peephole. But it wasn't her friend standing there; it was Derek, with his go bag slung over his shoulder. Her eyes flew to his. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Sleeping with you," he announced.

She was quiet for a moment. "Is this going to happen every time you have a particularly hard case?" she asked. "You're going to be on the other side of my door?"

"They're all 'particularly hard,' Garcia," he told her, pushing past her and advancing into the room.

After the day's events, she didn't have the force to fight him, so she just closed the door behind him and followed him to the bed. He dropped his go bag at the foot of it and already in his pajama's, he crawled into bed. She crawled in beside him and was surprised when he just laid there. After a few minutes, she rolled up so she was facing him and touched his shoulder. "Derek—"

"I'm tired," he said abruptly.

"What?" _Now_ she was confused.

"I haven't slept for three days," he reminded her. "I'm tired."

"You just want to…_sleep_?" she asked in surprise.

He didn't open his eyes, just nodded as he pulled her close.

Penelope immediately stiffened. "I think I'd be more comfortable if we were having sex," she told him with a frown.

He couldn't stop the chuckle that made it's way from his throat.


	18. Chapter 17

**Author's Note: I just wanted to say thank you so much for your reviews for last chapter! I hope you enjoy this one! **

**Also, there's a poll on my profile page asking which story you'd like to see finished after this one if you'd like a say in what you want me to work on next! **

**Thanks so much for reading!**

**~ Angie**

* * *

After the abnormal events of the case, the flight was even more quiet than usual on the way home. Everyone was scattered throughout the jet sitting alone, except for Prentiss and Reid, who were casually sitting next to each other. No one thought anything of it, as Penelope and JJ were still the only two who knew they were seeing each other.

As soon as they got off the jet, Hotch marched into Strauss's office and after a quick meeting with her, called the team to the conference room to announce that they were on a five day stand down. Penelope was in her office packing up her things when she heard the door behind her open.

"Hey."

She turned around. "Hey," she said.

"Do you want to grab a bite to eat?" Derek asked.

She studied his face for a moment. "What are we? Dating now?" she asked caustically. "No. I don't want to grab a bite to eat. That's not what we're about," she reminded him.

Just then, JJ poked her head in the office. "Are you guys coming?" she asked.

"I'll be there in a minute," Derek answered. "Apparently Penelope's not 'about' eating tonight."

JJ shrugged. "OK," she said dismissively, disappearing once again.

Penelope felt her cheeks turning crimson and had to bite her tongue. If it was anyone else, she'd be apologizing right now. But she refused to say I'm sorry to Derek Morgan.

He gave her a pointed stare.

"I'm not going to apologize," she snapped. "It only makes sense that that's what I'd assume." God, she really hated that he could knock her off her game, taker her down a notch without even trying. No one had ever done that to her before. It was entirely too unnerving.

"So…what _are_ we about?" he asked.

"We…" she sighed. "I didn't word that right. We aren't about anything. We're just…"

"So…let me get this straight," Derek said, widening his stance and crossing his arms over his lean chest. The strap from his go bag was slung over his upper body, and for God's sake, he even made the damn strap look hot! "As long as I have something you _want_…you're willing to treat me with respect."

"You have _never_ had anything I wanted," Penelope spat.

"Right," Derek said sarcastically. "Because you didn't want to hear what happened to Reid when we found him last night."

"I could have asked anyone to leave their microphone on," she shot back.

"But you didn't," he reminded her in a low voice. "You asked _me._"

"You…you were the last one in the house!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah. You keep telling yourself that," he said. "But we both know that's not all you want."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah," he said matter-of-factly, walking slowly towards her.

She swallowed past the lump of nervousness in her throat and retreated until the backs of her thighs hit her desk. Her hands flew out to grip the edge of it in order to steady herself.

Derek stopped in front of her, encircled one of her wrists with his thumb and forefinger, then pulled her hand to the fly of his pants, resting it on the denim. "You want this," he said, his eyes darkening with desire. "Hot…throbbing…and yours for the asking."

"I don't…" Her voice trailed off, her eyes widening as his erection grew under her touch. "Fuck," she whispered. "Your place or mine?"

* * *

Her place made much more sense given that it was closer. She was just unlocking her front door when he grabbed her by the elbow and spun her around. She screeched in surprise as his mouth came down onto hers, his tongue thrusting past her lips and teeth straight into her heat. His tongue assailed hers with its usual expertise, and she couldn't help but cling to him. "Ooh," she said as he abruptly pulled away from her.

"Is _this _what we're about?" he asked before she'd even opened her eyes.

"What?" she asked, blinking with confusion.

"I said…is _this _what we're about?"

She nodded dumbly as she looked away, struggling to get the key into the lock. She finally did, and then pushed the door open and walked through. Derek was hot on her heels, and she heard the door slam closed behind her. When she spun back around, Derek surprised her by sweeping her up into his arms and taking the stairs two at a time. Her bedroom door was open just a tad; he used his foot to kick it open the rest of the way. He was certainly nimble—he used his elbow to flick her light switch on, then strode to her bed and plopped her unceremoniously in the middle of the mattress.

With a predatory gleam in his eyes, he put a knee on the bed and crawled towards her. Before he could reach her, Penelope sat up and opened the buttons on her shirt, sliding it down over her shoulders and tossing it to the floor. As soon as she'd discarded it, Derek threw a leg over her waist so he was straddling her. He reached down and used a single finger to pop the clasp between her breasts open. His hands hastily pushed the navy blue silk out of the way, cupping her breasts with his palms. Her nipples peaked under his touch, and he moved them in slow circles over her chest. With a groan, Penelope covered his hands with hers, speeding up his circles. She was applying so much pressure; she was practically crushing her breasts flat against her chest. But she was quaking beneath him. "Morgan," she rasped, her eyes heavy lidded.

"Derek," he corrected.

"Derek," she whimpered when he pulled his hands away and took one of her nipples into his mouth, his tongue tracing circles around her nipple before running his rough tongue over its peak. She grabbed his head and pulled it up to her own, giving him a searing kiss before pushing him away and reaching for the hem of his t-shirt. She gave it a tug, and Derek took her cue, pulling it quickly over his head. She couldn't wait to feel his skin on hers. She sat up until her chest was flush with his, moving her upper body back and forth against his, the light sprinkle of hair on his chest teasing her.

"Sweet Lord, Woman," he rasped pulling away. He was going to come before he'd even gotten his pants off. _Not_ cool. He hadn't done _that_ since high school.

He flipped over onto his back and unbuttoned his jeans, pushing them, along with his boxers, down over his legs. He used his feet to kick them the rest of the way off, and Penelope followed suit with her own, ridding herself of the bra that had been hanging off her shoulders as well.

* * *

Penelope felt the fire coursing through her body. For God's sake, he wasn't even _touching_ her! One stroke and she was likely to go up in flames. Why was it that out of all the men on the planet, Derek Morgan had to be the one with this kind of affect on her? She felt his hand brushing against her inner thigh and her breath caught. _Analyze later, Pen_, she told herself. She moaned when she felt his fingers between her folds, moving slowly up and down. She could feel the heat from the dampness between her legs as he kept the motion going, whimpering every time his fingers grazed her core.

"You like that?" he asked with a triumphant gleam in his eyes as he ran his index finger around her center.

"You _know_ I do," she said, as her back arched up off the bed.

"Then you're going to _love_ this," he said, settling between her legs and driving inside of her with a single thrust.

"Oh, God," she said huskily as he plunged in and out of her, strategically adjusting his body so he was rubbing against her center. With every thrust, Derek shoved Penelope further up the mattress. She had to lift her hands to brace her palms against the headboard, locking her elbows so her head wouldn't hit it. She was writhing beneath him, willing herself not to come until he was ready.

But she couldn't stop it—she grunted in a most unladylike fashion, signifying her loss of control. It sent Derek over the edge and he exploded inside of her.

"Yes," Penelope whispered as they collapsed as one onto the mattress. "_This_ is what we're about."


	19. Chapter 18

**Author's Note: Hey, guys. Thanks for all of the reviews for the last chapter. I'm sorry for the delay in getting this one posted; I'm experiencing a bit of writer's block.**

**~Angie**

* * *

The five day stand down had been a Godsend. It had actually been seven because they'd arrived home from Georgia on a Sunday night, and then hadn't gotten called out on a case over the weekend. The entire tone at the BAU had changed. There seemed to be more of a peace now—even _with _Reid's recent abduction. It was as if they'd gotten something out of the way. But in true BAU fashion, that peace wouldn't stay for long. They'd all seen too much to take it at face value.

Speaking of Reid…he and Emily were in with Hotch, deciding it was best if he heard it from them that they were dating. Penelope—always a busybody— was standing just inside of her office, her eyes glued to the Unit Chief's door. She was nervous about what kind of procedure was in place for such things and was focused so intently that she jumped when JJ appeared before her in the doorway. "Geez, Jayje," she scolded breathlessly. "You're quiet as a mouse."

JJ laughed. "What's going on?" she asked.

Penelope sighed as she made her way into her office and took a seat; JJ followed suit. "Which one do you think will have to go?" she asked with a frown. "Emily makes sense because Reid was here first, don't you think?"

JJ shrugged. "I'm not sure," she said. "I've never been part of a team when two members started…" She cleared her throat. "Having relations," she finished.

"Oh, my God," Penelope muttered, wrinkling her nose. "Relations." She sighed. "How do you think he is in bed?"

"Garcia!" JJ exclaimed.

"Well…a girl can't help but wonder," she said in a high pitched tone.

JJ rolled her eyes. "Well, I'll tell you what. You keep wondering about Reid if you want to. I'd rather speculate about Morgan," she said in a near whisper.

"Are you _kidding_?"

JJ shook her head. "No. I am not kidding. Something tells me that man knows his way around a woman's body."

Penelope shrugged. "Maybe," she said, trying to keep her voice neutral. He _did_ know his way around a woman's body, but JJ didn't need to know she knew that!

"Bet he's got a built in GPS system," JJ contemplated aloud. "And it probably goes beep, beep, beep when he's near her—"

"Don't you have work to do?" Penelope interrupted hastily.

JJ gave her friend a confused look. "What's going on with you?" she asked.

"What do you mean? You know I don't like Derek," Penelope reminded her friend.

"You've always loved juicy conversation," JJ shot back.

Penelope cleared her throat; it didn't help. "I've never liked juicy conversation about Derek Morgan," she said in a strangled tone.

JJ rolled her eyes. "Fine," she said standing. "Yes, I have work to do." She made her way to Penelope's office door before turning back around. "You know—as crazy as this is, I would have expected you and Derek to end up in bed before I'd have expected Emily and Reid to. Hmmm," she said thoughtfully, departing her friend's office.

* * *

"Thank God!" Penelope said an hour later when Emily walked into her office. She stalked over to her friend and grabbed her by the upper arms. "How did it go?" she asked anxiously.

"Owww," Emily said, looking down at her friends hands.

"Sorry!" Penelope said quickly. "I practically paced a hole in my floor waiting. Are you in trouble?"

Emily laughed. "No. We're not in trouble," she assured her friend. "But Hotch did make it very clear that if he noticed a change in our behavior while we're in the field that one of us will be gone."

Penelope nodded. "That sounds fair," she conceded.

"I thought so, too," Emily agreed, and then sat down across from her friend. "Listen…I can't go to the Bon Jovi concert with you this weekend."

"Why not?" Penelope asked.

"I—" Emily sighed. "I just don't want to leave Reid so soon after…everything that's happened."

"Did he ask you not to go?"

Emily shook her head. "Of course not. He would never do that. I just—it's for _my_ peace of mind. I need to be with him right now, Garcia."

Penelope nodded in understanding.

"But…I have great news! I found someone to take my ticket," Emily told her friend excitedly.

"You did?" Penelope asked. "Who?"

She looked up as Derek passed her office. When his eyes caught hers, he gave her a quick wink and she could hear his silky smooth voice singing the lyrics to _Wanted Dead or Alive_ as he walked by.

Penelope groaned. "Emily...you have _got_ to be kidding me."

"You guys seem to be getting along so well lately," Emily commented.

"Because we were just taken to task in Hotch's office!" she exclaimed. "We're faking it because we want to keep our jobs."

Emily lifted an eyebrow. "Well, you're pretty good at faking it," she said with a grin.

"Hey," Penelope said rather uncomfortably. "Speaking of faking it…how _is_ the young doctor in bed?"

"Garcia!" Emily exclaimed standing up.

"Well, JJ asked and—"

"You're going to try and pin this on poor JJ? I can't _believe_ you!"

* * *

"Hey," Derek said later as he walked into Penelope's office.

"Now you're coming to see me before _and _after a case?" she asked impatiently.

"Are you mad at me?" he returned in confusion.

"Nope," she said shortly. "Mad insinuates that I have feelings for you. I have no feelings for you, therefore, how can I be mad?" she said, pounding on her keys so hard it was as if she was trying to push them through the bottom of her keyboard.

He shifted his stance in bewilderment. "Is this about the Bon Jovi ticket?" he asked.

"Nope," she said, not even sparing him a glance.

"Then what…are you _mad_ because I didn't call you while we were on stand down?" he pressed.

"No!" she denied, turning her head to look at him. He knew she was lying; her cheeks were as red as a candy apple.

"You _are,_" he said with a grin. "You're mad because I didn't call you."

"I _said_ you can't make me mad, remember?" she reminded him.

Derek cleared his throat. "No. What I remember is you saying that we were about good—or, as I recall, _explosive_—sex. That's what _I _remember." He shrugged. "I figured if you got horny, you'd call."

Penelope gasped. "You know what? Give me your Bon Jovi ticket! There's no way I'm going to be able to enjoy him with _you_ there!"

Derek's eyes began to dance. "Wow," he said in a low voice.

"What?" she snapped.

"I must make you all kinds of hot if you think you won't be able to concentrate on Jon Bon Jovi while I'm standing next to you."

"Do _not_ give yourself that much credit!" she said. "You piss me off!"

"But, Sweetness," he said, all innocence. "I can't _make_ you mad, remember?"

Penelope's eyes darkened as she flew to her feet. She grabbed the first thing she could find, a coffee cup, and threw it at him.

He ducked and it smacked into the wall behind him, shattering as it hit the floor; he straightened with a grin. "Save that passion for my homecoming."


	20. Chapter 19

**Author's Note: FYI—this chapter contains spoilers for the episode 'Elephant's Memory.' Read on at your own risk if you haven't seen the episode!**

**Also, if you haven't voted yet in the poll as to which story you'd like me to finish next, I'm closing it Sunday evening. I'm going to start 'mapping' it so I can finish it in a timely manner. **

**Thanks again for reading; I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**~Angie**

* * *

Emily sat beside the window of the jet looking for something—_anything_—that would distract her from her silent fuming. She was so mad that she was actually having a hard time seeing straight—she'd thought that was just a saying; she didn't know it could really happen.

They'd just wrapped up a case in West Bune, Texas; the UnSub had been a teenage boy whose adolescence Reid had immediately identified with. He'd lied to Hotch, Rossi, and Morgan about the boy's whereabouts and had proceeded to try and reason with him—completely unarmed and with no backup at first.

In the end, he'd put himself on the other side of the boys gun, standing between him and the authorities who were trying to get a clear shot at him. Reid had succeeded in talking the boy down, but he'd risked his own life to do so. Hotch was talking to him right now—and all Emily could think was that he'd better be giving him hell. She knew she was going to!

In the span of just two weeks he'd been kidnapped—which arguably hadn't been his fault—and then he'd gone and done this. Emily set her jaw stubbornly, refusing to cry. She, by nature, was _not_ a crier, and the fact that her body wanted to do just that right now was only serving to fuel her anger. Spencer Reid was making her cry all too often lately.

"Emily—" Reid said gently, suddenly appearing before her.

"Don't," she said furiously, shaking her head. "I—I am so _fucking_ mad at you right now!" she hissed.

"Em—" he said, sitting down beside her.

"What were you _thinking_?" she asked, her eyes locked on his, desperate to know the answer to her question.

Reid grinned somberly. "I was thinking that…for _once…I_ was the lucky one," he admitted. "I was lucky it wasn't _me_ who'd turned out like that."

"Reid—"

"I was thanking God that I'd turned out OK. That I was exactly where I am right now," he mused. "Because this is where I want to be."

She frowned in confusion. "I thought you didn't believe in God," she said doubtfully.

"I certainly didn't get _you_ on my own merit. You had to have been a gift from some higher being," he reasoned softly.

"Don't…say stuff like that," she muttered.

"Why not?"

"Because now I'm less mad at you! And I want to be mad at you, Reid!" she said, her eyes blazing with fury.

"Ok," he conceded as he stood. "Be mad at me. Just…not for too long, OK?"

In a flash she was on her feet before him, embracing him securely. He returned her hold with equal force.

"I'm glad you're OK," she whispered, then pulled away. "Now get away from me."

With a grin, he crossed the aisle and took the seat near the window.

* * *

"No, Jayje," Penelope said desperately. "You can't _do_ this to me."

"Well, I'm sorry, Penelope," her friend said. "But Henry is teething. And I love you, but…he trumps you."

Penelope sighed. "God, that's such a good reason that I can't even argue with you. Well, I guess the concert's off."

"What?" JJ asked in disbelief. "That's crazy! You've been waiting for _months _to go to this concert."

"I know," Penelope said. "But…half the fun is going with your girlfriends."

"It's one night," JJ reminded her friend. "Spending one night with Derek Morgan isn't going to kill you, is it?"

Well, it hadn't _yet_, so Penelope had pretty good hopes that it wouldn't now. But she was still pissed that he hadn't called during their stand down. Not that she'd ever admit it to anyone—especially _him_. "I guess not," she allowed. "But…I am _not_ going to enjoy this!"

"Right…text me that when Jon hits the stage," her friend teased. "I'm really sorry I can't make it, Penelope. Take good pictures!"

* * *

"This is _not_ a date," Penelope insisted, her eyes glued to the windshield.

"I…never said it was," Derek reminded her, holding back a grin. She hadn't made eye contact with him once since he'd picked her up. It really was amusing.

"Well, I just want to be clear. I don't want things between us to get skewed."

"How could they get skewed?" Derek asked his attention on the road. He was trying to see through the downpour that had started a few miles back.

"Well, I—for one thing, you keep sending me mixed signals," she said accusingly.

"No," he argued. "I'm sending you signals you don't _like_. There's a difference."

That did it. Her eyes—blistering with annoyance—flew to his face and he couldn't help but look at her, still trying to keep that grin back.

"What do you mean 'signals I don't _like_?'" she questioned.

"You're pissed at me because you don't know _what_ you want," he informed her, ignoring her question.

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?" she asked.

Derek sighed. He thought _that _statement came when they were already _in_ a relationship. Now it was preceding it? See, this was why he didn't date! It was too complicated. But—and he _never_ thought he'd think this way—it was far less complicated than just sex with Penelope. "It_ means_ that I crawl into your bed to cuddle, and _you_ get mad at me. I storm your bed for sex, and again, _you_ get mad at me. You don't know whether you're coming or going," he said. "Here's a hint sweetheart—if I'm in the room, you're _coming._"

Penelope's jaw dropped as she gasped. "You planned this, didn't you? You have me hostage in a moving vehicle, you _know_ I can't leave, and then you start…talking dirty!"

"I thought you liked it when I talked dirty," he remarked.

"Not in a vehicle," she huffed.

"What if we were in the back seat?" he said, the smirk he'd been holding back finally making its appearance.

Penelope—very well aware that she was acting childlike—crossed her arms over her chest and proceeded to sulk. "What I wouldn't give for a coffee cup right now," she muttered.

Derek's shout of laughter didn't help the situation.


	21. Chapter 20

**Author's Note: I hope you like this one! I sure had a lot of fun writing it...I think you'll see why! LOL ~ Angie**

* * *

"Did you like the show?" Derek asked, trying to concentrate on the road in front of him. When they'd come out of the venue, it had been hammering rain. By the time they'd got to the vehicle, they were soaked to the bone. He'd tried to get Penelope to wait for him so she wouldn't get rained on, but she wouldn't hear of it. God forbid she let him do something for her. The woman was so stubborn.

"Yeah, it was great. I wish they would've sung 'I'll Be There for You,' though" she answered dismissively. "Can you see OK? Because…_I_ can't see very well."

"I can see enough," he assured her. If it was up to him, they go to the nearest hotel and wait out the downpour, even if it meant not leaving until morning. But he wasn't going to be the one to mention it. Not after she'd accused him of taking her hostage in a moving vehicle. This needed to be her idea.

"What's enough?" she insisted.

"If I squint really hard, I can just make out the white line on the side of the road."

Penelope sighed. "Do you think we should just try to find a hotel?" she asked.

He shrugged. "It's up to you," he told her.

Penelope didn't think it was possible, but it started raining even harder. She reached for the radio and turned it up.

_In other news, torrential downpours have caused multiple motorists to go off the road in several parts of the state, and stranded other's on the shoulder._

"I think we should find a hotel," she decided.

"Good idea," he agreed.

"If you see a twenty four hour drug store on the way, can you stop?" she asked.

"I already have some of those," he answered distractedly.

"Some of _what_?" she asked confused.

* * *

"What do you mean you only have _one_ room?" Penelope demanded nearly an hour later. "This is a hotel, for God's sake! You're in the business of booking _rooms-ah,_" she scolded, putting heavy emphasis on the 's.'

"Ma'am," the woman said impatiently, "Do you want the room or not? There's a line of people behind you who are waiting, and I'm sure any one of them would be thankful for a room-ah," the woman said, dragging out the 'm' on the end of the word.

Penelope gasped. "You—"

"We'll take it," Derek said slapping his credit card down onto the counter and pulling Penelope back by her elbow.

"What are you doing?" she hissed.

"Keeping the peace," he informed her. "I'm sure a lot of the hotels in the area are completely booked between the concert and the rain," he reasoned. "I don't want to have to drive another hour to find a different hotel."

Penelope sighed. He was right. She was being a bitch to the woman behind the counter. The poor lady was just trying to do her job. It wasn't _her_ fault Penelope was stranded with Derek.

"Ready?" Derek asked a moment later.

She nodded and they headed for the elevator. She stopped at the sign that lead to the bar. "Karaoke night," she said, reading the dry erase board. "That sounds like fun. Let's go watch."

Derek cleared his throat. "Maybe we should go to the room first so you could…freshen up," he suggested.

* * *

"Reid?" Emily whispered in the darkened room. She couldn't sleep with the rain hitting the window like that; it had never been so loud!

"What?" he answered sleepily.

"Do you…see a future with us?" she asked hesitantly.

"I think we'll be waking up together tomorrow morning, if that's what you're asking," he teased.

"Come on," she said. "I'm serious."

Reid sighed as he pushed himself up onto his elbows and then reached for the lamp on his nightstand. He jerked at the light that filled the room, then gave his eyes a minute to get accustomed to it before speaking again. "Yes," he told her. "I see a future with us. Why are you asking me this at…?" he looked at the clock on the nightstand. "One in the morning?"

She sighed as she lifted her arms so they were over her head on the pillow. "I just…I can't understand why you put yourself in harms way," she said softly. "I just…if you see a future, why would you risk getting shot?"

Reid shrugged. "I can't explain it, Emily," he told her. "All I can say is…if it was _me_, if _I_ was him…I wouldn't have wanted to shoot the only person who was interested in helping me."

Emily took a deep breath and nodded. "So, what kind of a future do you see with us?" she pressed.

"A _long_ one," he said carefully.

"With kids and a…?" she stopped to clear her throat.

"And a _what_?" he prompted, completely sitting up now.

"A…"

"Wedding?" he supplied.

She nodded and he couldn't help but grin.

"Emily Prentiss are you asking me to marry you?" he teased.

"Well…no," she said hesitantly.

Reid knew she was feeling him out, seeing if he was interested in marriage with her. He definitely was. He leaned down and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. "Good, because from what I hear…_I_ get to be the one to do that."

In a flash he'd rolled over onto his belly, pulled his nightstand drawer open, and then practically fallen off the bed in his haste to make it to his knees. He knew one was customary, but it didn't matter. He was on both knees, and this was how he was going to do it. He opened the navy blue velvet box in his hand and grinned at her.

Emily gasped, her hand flying to her chest as she sat up. "Yes!" she said.

"I haven't even asked yet," he said with a chuckle.

"Sorry," she said, her cheeks heating.

"Em…will you marry me?" he asked tenderly.

She frowned. "You don't think it's too soon?" she asked worriedly.

"Yeah," Reid said, starting to close the box. "You're probably right—I…I should wait."

She sat there for a moment, speechless.

Reid counted to fifteen and grinned. "Do you think _now_ would be a good time to propose?"

Emily hurriedly scooted up onto her knees and then to the edge of the mattress. "Yes," she whispered with a grin Reid found entirely sexy. "I'll marry you."

She leaned down and gave him a quick kiss on the lips, then held out her hand. "Ring, please."

Reid laughed, and then took the emerald ring out of the box. It was oval shaped with diamonds surrounding it. The white gold band was also encrusted with diamonds.

"Reid," she breathed as he slipped it on her finger.

"Do you like it?" he asked quickly. "Because if you don't, Garcia helped me pick it out. You're always commenting on her jewelry, and—"

Emily leaned down and rested her forehead on his. "It's perfect, Reid," she assured him. "I love it. And I love _you_."

"I love you, too," he said as his fiance lowered her lips to his in a tender kiss. "You know what this means?" he asked when she pulled away.

"What?" she asked.

"You're going to have to start calling me Spencer."

"Is that what you want me to yell out in bed, too?" she teased huskily.

Reid's eyes widened. "I'm throbbing at the thought."

As he stood, she tightened her hold around his neck, her eyes dancing playfully. "I think we should try it out…_Spencer_."

"Oh, sweet Lord," he said in a strangled voice.

* * *

Thank _God_ Derek had strongly suggested they go to their room first. It was his way of politely telling her she looked like a drowned rat. Because of the rain, her mascara had created deep black streaks on her cheeks, and her hair was matted to her head. How had she not noticed her reflection when she was in the make up section of the drug store? She'd been able to use the blow dryer the hotel provided in their room and her new make up to fix the damage.

She had to giggle as she thought of herself yelling at the front desk clerk. She'd probably scared the woman half to death with her appearance alone! It was a good thing Derek had pulled her away when he did. Speaking of Derek, he'd left almost ten minutes ago to use the men's room. Where _was _he?

She took a drink of her water—the bar had stopped serving liquor just before they'd arrived—and looked around. No Derek.

All of a sudden, the familiar strains of one of her favorite songs filled the air, and Penelope's eyes flew to the stage in time to see the spotlight shine on Derek. When they locked eyes, he lifted a brow.

_I guess this time you're really leaving…I heard your suitcase say goodbye..._

Oh, God. Now she was going to have to sleep with him.


	22. Chapter 21

**Author's Note: Thank you all so much for the reviews for last chapter! :) I hope you like this one! **

**~ Angie**

* * *

Something had shifted between them that night. She wasn't sure what it was, only that things were different. Penelope thought part of it was probably the fact that any man willing to make a fool out of himself for you was _insanely_ attractive—and Derek _had _made a fool of himself. The man couldn't carry a tune in a bucket—but that hadn't mattered to him. He'd gotten up there anyway and belted out the lyrics just for her. Some of the other women in the place had feasted on him with hungry eyes, but to her amazement, he hadn't noticed. His eyes had never left _her_. Seeing that—_knowing_ that—had made her feel powerful. It was a heady thing to know that a man countless other women were lusting after was going home with _you_ that night.

Before he'd even finished the first line of the song, she was a goner. She'd known they'd no sooner get back to their hotel room and she'd lunge at him. And she had. But he'd slowed her down, forced her to take it down a notch. And then _he'd_ proceeded to seduce _her_. It was different from any other time they'd been together. Each time before had been frantic and hurried—as if they knew how electric their chemistry was, but also that there were no guarantees it would happen again. On this occasion, he'd taken his time. He'd left no part of her untouched, not a single inch of skin had gone un-kissed.

"_Ok, if we do this, you can't hold it against me," she'd said breathlessly as she'd tried to hustle out of her shirt._

_Eyes dancing, he'd grabbed it, forcing her to stop, then started pushing it ever so slowly off her shoulders. "Cross my heart," he'd said in a husky voice, kissing his way from the curve of her neck down to the racing pulse at her wrist, his tongue darting out of his mouth to taste her skin._

_She whimpered. "Because…well, I saw Jon Bon Jovi tonight and…he's hot as hell and really gets my blood pressure up," she said._

_Derek had lifted is eyes and grinned at her. "Not a problem." _

_Penelope nodded. "OK, then."_

"_I'll tell ya what," he'd teased. "I'll even let ya yell out Jon if you think it'll make you feel better."_

_She couldn't help but grin back. "You know what? I think it might."_

_When he'd swept her up in his arms, she'd let out a shriek. _

_Five minutes later…she couldn't even remember who Jon Bon Jovi was._

When they'd made their way back into town yesterday, they'd stopped at his house. He'd gotten his things, and then he'd come home with her. He'd slipped out of bed early that morning after getting her hot and bothered—with promises of tonight—and gone home to shower.

With a contented sigh, she continued moving the things on her desk off to the side. Since the team was still in house and there wasn't an immediate need for her skills, a good dusting of her equipment was in order. She was spritzing the counter with cleaner when Emily peeked in. "Hey," she said. "How was the concert?"

Penelope turned around. "Amazing," she admitted—although she was really talking about her own private after show with Derek.

Emily grinned. "Good. I'll need to see the pictures and hear every juicy detail. But right now…can you come with me for a minute?"

"Is everything OK?" Penelope asked, immediately following her friend out the door.

"Couldn't be better," Emily admitted.

The two made their way down the stairs into the bullpen, and Penelope was surprised to find the rest of the team gathered. "What's going on?" she whispered, looking around as she came to a stop beside Derek.

He turned to look at her, gave her the once over (causing her to blush, of course) and then shrugged. "I'm not sure," he answered.

Emily cleared her throat, gaining everyone's attention. "So…Reid and I told you last week that we were…together," she said hesitantly.

There was lots of nodding from the team, and Penelope couldn't help but grin as she watched Reid take Emily's hand.

"Well…Reid is doing his damned-est to make an honest woman out of me," she told them.

His hand tightened on Emily's as he grinned. "So…we're going to the sanitarium in Las Vegas where my mother is to get married," he said proudly.

"I want to go to the sanitarium," Derek said.

"Good place for ya," Penelope commented under her breath, her eyes dancing; Derek nudged her playfully.

JJ laughed. "I have to hand to you, Reid. Most people go to Vegas for their _chapels_ to get married. And you're going for the sanitarium. Good for you."

With a grin, he opened his desk drawer and pulled out a bottle of sparkling cider. Emily grabbed the plastic cups off her desk and began passing them out. "Celebrating in style," she remarked.

* * *

Penelope had just gotten her things back to the way they were when Emily made a second appearance in her office. "Do you have a minute?" she asked.

"For you?" Penelope returned. "Always."

"Good. I have something for you," Emily said, walking towards her. She held up her closed fist, and Penelope, giving her friend a curious look, held her hand out palm up.

She gasped when Emily released her grip, the diamond tennis bracelet that was supposed to be Penelope's if she'd won their bet falling into her palm.

"Emily," she said in disbelief. "I—I can't _take_ this!" She tried to give the bracelet back to her friend, but Emily stepped backwards, refusing to take it.

"You have to," Emily said with a grin. "I'm forfeiting the bet. Plus…I don't want it anymore."

"Why not? It's gorgeous," she said.

"Because it's part of my past," Emily explained. "And from now on, I'm only looking to the future."

"But you love this bracelet!" Penelope insisted.

Emily shook her head. "No. _You_ love the bracelet. I love Reid."

Penelope sighed as she studied the bracelet in her hand. "I don't…I don't know what to say."

"A thank you would suffice," Emily joked.

"Thank you," Penelope said quickly.

Emily nodded.

"I…I can't believe you and Reid are engaged!" Penelope remarked, her eyes still on the diamonds glittering in her hand.

"Smart ass. I _know_ you helped pick out the ring. Good job, by the way."

Penelope laughed. "Trust me—there is nothing smart about my ass this morning. I really am shocked. I didn't think he was going to propose so soon. And just so you know, _Reid_ picked out the ring. I just informed him that it was a good choice."

Emily looked down at her hand and studied the ring on her finger, a dreamy expression that Penelope had never seen before on her face. "I don't think he knew he was going to, either." She lifted her eyes to her friends. "This brings me to my second reason for crashing your office. I want to know if you'll be my maid of honor."

Penelope's eyes widened. "Really?"

Emily nodded.

"I…" Penelope sighed. "I can't," she said.

"Oh," Emily said, a shocked look on her face. "Oh…OK."

"I can't…be maid of _honor_ when I've been lying to you," Penelope clarified.

Emily frowned. "You've been lying to me?"

Penelope bit her lower lip as she nodded.

"Well…do you want to come clean so you _can _be my maid of honor?" Emily asked.

Penelope took a deep breath. "You're not going to like it."

"Oh, God," Emily said. "Now I'm _dying_ to know."

"I'm sleeping with Derek," she admitted in a rush. "We've _been_ sleeping together off and on for a while now." She bobbed her head from side to side a couple of times. "Mostly off, until lately."

Emily's eyes were as big as saucers. "You're dating Derek?" she exclaimed.

"Well, we're not exactly _dating_," Penelope said. At least, not_ yet_. "More like…practicing for the bedroom Olympics."

"And…?" Emily asked excitedly.

Penelope grinned widely. "I think we're winning."


	23. Chapter 22

It had all come together fairly quickly. Hotch had asked JJ to gather a cluster of cases that were currently being investigated in Las Vegas, then he'd gone above Strauss to see if they could offer their skills in order to help get some of those criminals on the street. He'd had to do a bit of coaxing—reminding his superior's superior how beneficial good press would be for the Behavioral Analysis Unit—especially with the budget cuts that the FBI soon would be facing. It was that that had clinched it, and he'd gotten the approval he'd needed.

He'd thought it odd that Prentiss and Reid would be getting married while they were on 'cases,' but the two seemed to think nothing of it. They were thankful that Hotch had gone out on a limb for them. They'd wanted the entire team to be at their wedding, but had thought it would be impossible. It was rare that any two agents were able to get the same time off—especially the chunk of time it would have taken to fly to Vegas, and then have a—well, a kind of—honeymoon. So they'd resolved themselves to the fact that it would probably be just the two of them and Reid's mother in attendance. Reid had asked her if she'd wanted her parents there, and she'd quickly told him that no, it wasn't important to her that her parents be there. He'd tried to argue with her, and then she'd informed him that if her mother were there, she'd probably try to talk her out of getting married; he hadn't mentioned it again.

Reid finished filling out the appropriate paperwork for them to visit his mother, then took her hand and led Emily towards the elevator. "You OK?" he asked, his eyebrows drawing together in concern.

"I'm fine," she assured him.

"Em," he said sternly. "You're picking at your nails."

She sighed. "I'm a little nervous. What is your mother going to think…you marrying me after she's only met me _once_?" she asked.

Reid chuckled. "She's probably going to try and talk you out of marrying me," he joked.

"Spencer—"

Reid groaned. Ever since she'd taken to calling him his first name, he was reminded of the night he'd proposed to her—and the amazing lovemaking that had followed. That was all it took to make him throb for her. They'd decided together that it was best if she only used his last name while they were working. It made it a lot easier for him to get around.

* * *

Traveling with the team wasn't something Penelope was able to do often since all of the equipment she needed was set up in Quantico, but she loved it. She supposed if she traveled as much as they did it wouldn't have this affect on her, especially in the capacity that they were used to.

She'd just finished placing her clothes in the appropriate drawers of the dresser and was in the bathroom freshening up when she heard him behind her.

"Getting ready for dinner?" he asked.

Penelope spun around with a shriek, her hand flying to her throat in surprise. "How did you get in here?" she asked breathlessly.

Derek grinned. "I had to sweet talk the front desk clerk for your key," he admitted.

Penelope frowned. "The front desk clerk was a _man_," she reminded him.

He nodded, that ever present twinkle in his eyes. "Talk about awkward."

Her eyes narrowed. "You totally flashed your badge," she deduced.

"Totally," Derek agreed, then changed the subject. "You almost ready? We're supposed to meet everyone down there in…" He looked at his watch. "Fifteen minutes."

"I like to be fashionably late," she told him. "Maybe you should go down without me. It'll look suspicious if we're both late and get there at exactly the same time." Emily was still the only one who knew about them, and Derek didn't even know she knew. Although knew _what_ exactly Penelope wasn't sure. It had been a few weeks since the concert, and though things had changed—there was an ease between them now that she liked—they still hadn't discussed anything about feelings.

If he wasn't out of town, his head was on the pillow next to hers each night, and she still had no idea where they stood. She supposed she could take the bull by the horns and admit _her_ feelings, but she wasn't that brave. She wasn't ready to give up what they had if he were to get spooked by her 'growing affection' for him. That was what she'd learned to refer to it as in her head, as the thought of falling in love with Derek Morgan was still unnerving.

"Darlin'," he said, following her into the bathroom , "I could give a fuck about other people's suspicions."

Penelope laughed as she removed the simple diamond studs from her ears and replaced them with a pair of pink dangly earrings that were just a shade darker than the sundress she was wearing. "Well, _I_ could," she told him, sweeping a single layer of sheer gloss over her lips and then rubbing them together as she studied her reflection in the mirror.

He came to stand behind her, gently moving her hair back over her shoulder and off to the side so he could kiss the bare skin on the back of her neck. "You know what my favorite part of a wedding is?"

Penelope sighed. "When the officiator _finally _tells the bride and groom that they can kiss, but before they do, they share this amazing look of just…adoration?" she asked dreamily.

Derek frowned. "No," he said with a disgusted look on his face. "Finding the hottest bridesmaid and seducing her."

Penelope laughed as she reached inside of her cosmetics case and pulled out a little velvet case. He paid no attention as she opened it up and fastened the diamond bracelet around her wrist. "I'm not a bridesmaid," she informed him. "I'm the maid of honor."

He shrugged. "A maid of honor will do in a pinch. In fact…even better…the thought of dishonoring _you_…" His voice trailed off meaningfully.

"I thought you were in a hurry to leave?" she asked with an amused look on her face.

"I am," he remarked, giving her the once over…although, with him, it was _never_ just a onceover. "Just…excited for dessert."

Penelope rolled her eyes. "For God's sake. I'm ready," she told him. "Are you ready?"

"Oh, I'm always ready," he told her, a wicked grin on his face.

"To go downstairs," she clarified.

He chuckled as he followed her out of the bathroom. When she reached for her purse on the stand beside the door, his eyes narrowed and he reached for her wrist. "What the hell is _this_?" he asked, trying to force his tone to remain even. It was a battle he wasn't winning.

"What's what?" she asked, her eyes wide.

He moved her arm so that her wrist, adorned with the diamond bracelet, was in front of her face. "_This_," he snapped angrily, so overcome with jealousy it was amazing he could even form words. This was not a bracelet a woman bought for herself. This was something a man bought for a woman when he was trying to tell her he loved her. And while it was probably a gift given to her by someone from her past, he didn't like the idea of her wearing something from another man while she was with _him_.

She pulled her arm away. "It's a bracelet," she answered in confusion. What was his problem?

"I see that," he shot back. "Who gave it to you?"

"Are you…?" The jealousy churning in his eyes was so intense that she couldn't finish her question. She knew it shouldn't, but it made her heart skip a beat—it was the first indication she'd had that he had feelings for her beyond the bedroom. She felt like doing a little dance. Derek Morgan was jealous because she was wearing a piece of jewelry that he thought was given to her by another man. A little part of her childishly wanted to keep up the charade just to see what he'd do, but she had a feeling that could prove to be dangerous. So she answered truthfully. "When Emily and I made our bet about, she had to give me this diamond bracelet if I won. And then all of that stuff happened with her and Reid, and she forfeited."

"Oh," he said dumbfounded, taking a moment to clear his throat. "That…that's…interesting. So, what are _you_ going to have to forfeit?"

Penelope stood there for a moment, nervously chewing the inside of her cheek. She'd had no idea that _this_ was where their conversation was going to end up; this was the moment she'd been regretting for weeks, but she'd known she was going to have to come clean eventually if they were going to be able to move ahead.

"Penelope?"

Penelope took a deep breath. "The rules of the bet were simple," she told him. "If Emily lost…she had to give me this diamond bracelet," she repeated, stalling for time.

"And if _you_ lost…?" Derek prompted.

Penelope wanted to look him in the eyes, wanted to see his reaction when she answered, but she just couldn't do it. The thought of possibly hurting him…

Her eyes fell to the carpet. "I had to ask you out," she whispered.


	24. Chapter 23

**Author's Note: I hope you enjoy this next installment of 'Upping the Ante!'**

**As always, thank you so much for your reviews!**

**~ Angie**

* * *

"You had to _what_?" Derek asked.

Penelope lifted her eyes to his and sighed. "If I lost the bet, I had to ask you out," she repeated, slower this time.

Derek's shout of laughter caught Penelope off guard. Of all the ways she'd envisioned him reacting—and there'd been a _lot_ of them she'd considered—she'd never pictured _this _happening.

"Derek—" she started.

But he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her waist, lowering his head to place a soft kiss on the side of his neck, anticipating the shudder that was certain to follow. His continuing laughter only proceeded to make her angry. She slapped at his shoulders and he immediately loosened his grip, allowing her to step back.

She placed her hands on her hips and lifted her chin in a show of defiance. "_What _is so funny?" she demanded.

Derek swiped at the tears of mirth that fell from the outer corners of his eyes. "My, how the mighty have fallen," he said.

"What do you mean?"

"How in the _hell_ did Prentiss get you to agree to that bet?"

"This isn't funny," she snapped.

"Of course it is," he argued. "Admit it…you're crazy about me."

She continued to stand there glaring at him.

"What if I admit it first?" he asked softly.

Penelope crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a shrewd glare. "Why don't you try it and see what happens?" she pushed.

He stood there staring at her, not moving a muscle a single muscle except the ones in his face as he broke out into a slow grin. "Woman," he said in a low voice. "I'm crazy about you."

Penelope let her arms, covering her chest in a protective gesture, fall to her sides. "Well, I…I might feel the same way," she conceded.

His eyes began to twinkle. "Good to know."

Penelope frowned. "Does this mean we're dating?" she asked.

"Sure," Derek said quickly. "Unless, God forbid, it gives you cold feet. What does the word dating do to you?"

She grinned. "Honestly…it makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside," she admitted in a soft voice.

Derek chuckled. "Should we mention to Hotch how much money he could've saved if he'd booked us a room together?"

Penelope's eyes widened. "After we embarrassed him with our displays of public sparring?" she asked. "Not a chance in Hades."

* * *

"Hello, Mom," Reid said softly as he approached his mother in one of the common rooms of the sanitarium that was her home. It was filled with couches, chairs, and some end tables and coffee tables. The colors were warm browns and soft blues, the curtains hanging in the windows complementing them perfectly. It was one of the reasons he'd picked this place; it was comfortable.

Diana Reid looked up, smiling at her son as she closed the book she was reading and placed it in her lap. "Spencer," she said, her voice soft but clearly pleased. "How are you…?" Her eyes went to his left hand, linked to the woman's standing beside him. "You're doing _well_," she said knowingly, looking the woman up and down.

"I _am_ doing well, Mom," he agreed as he sat down on the couch nearest her chair. "In fact, there's someone I want you to meet," he told her as Emily sat down beside him.

His mother grinned. "The woman you're going to marry," she deduced.

"How did you…?" he asked, his voice trailing off.

"I've told you, Spencer—a mother knows."

Reid grinned as he turned to look at Emily, then back at his mother. "Mom, this is Emily Prentiss," he told her. "And…we're in Vegas to get married."

"So soon, Spencer?" his mother asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"We've known each other for almost five years," he said quickly.

"And how long have you been dating?" she queried.

"That's not important," he insisted. "What _is_ important is that you attend the wedding. I'd really like for you to be there, Mom."

His mother smiled tenderly at him. "I wouldn't miss it," she told him. "You know—I always knew it would happen for you like this."

"Like what?" Reid asked confused.

"Quickly," she answered. "I always knew you'd fall in love and then…boom. You'd get married and have babies. Lots and lots of babies."

Reid could feel his face getting red and had to avert his gaze from Emily's. They hadn't actually discussed kids yet. He assumed she'd want to have children, especially after seeing her in the field with them.

Emily cleared her throat as she squeezed Reid's hand. "We can't wait."

* * *

Penelope made her way back to the bathroom as soon as she heard the door close behind Derek. They'd decided he'd go down first so as not to tip the rest of the team off about them—but not before he'd grabbed her and gave her another amazing kiss. Until she'd met him, she hadn't even _known_ that every kiss could be amazing. She'd thought there were different degrees of kissing—gentle and soft, rough, all doing different things to her insides…but with Derek, he never failed to curl her toes even with a single touch of his lips. She ran her fingers through her hair to neaten it, then counted to two hundred and headed down to the restaurant.

* * *

"Don't you look lovely," Rossi said as Penelope approached the table and sat down between him and JJ.

"Thank you," she said, her cheeks immediately heating.

"Actually, you…" Penelope turned to look at JJ, who was studying her intently. "You're _glowing._"

"Maybe she's radioactive," Emily said in amusement, saving her from further scrutiny as she and Reid came walking up to the table.

Penelope nearly sighed in relief. "So, is everything all set with your mom?" she asked, latching on to the first chance at changing the subject.

Reid nodded. "Yes. She's doing very well. So…we've actually decided to get married in one of the local chapels," he announced.

"And your mom will still be able to attend?" Derek asked.

Reid nodded. "Yep. She'll be able to be there."

"So…what needs to be done?" Penelope asked.

Rossi grinned as he winked at her. "What every good wedding needs," he said simply.

"The perfect dress," Penelope agreed.

Rossi frowned. "No. A kick ass bachelor party."

"We don't have time to plan a bachelor party," Reid argued.

"Plan?" Hotch said in mock disgust. "We're in Vegas. What's to plan? We can walk into any place on the strip and be good to go."

Rossi nodded his head. "Man's got a point."

"But I don't need—"

"Yes, you do," Emily interrupted her fiancé. "Rossi's right. Every man needs a good bachelor party, and you're no exception. So, after dinner—"

"We get our groove on," Derek said in a low voice.

JJ looked at Will, who'd flown in on a separate flight. "But don't be groovin' too much," she ordered.

Emily looked at Rossi. "And it better be _nothing _like the movie," she warned.

"No promises," Derek said, his eyes twinkling. "It _is_ men's night out."

Penelope wasn't sure _what_ to think of that. They'd just established the fact that they were dating and now he was using the first excuse that popped up to spend the night away from her?

So much for the warm and fuzzy feeling.


	25. Chapter 24

**Author's Note: I regret to inform you that I will not be updating this story on a regular basis—at least not right now. My computer is broken, and unfortunately, I can't afford a new one right away, so it may be a bit. I will do my best and update as often as possible (this means lots of writing by hand and then typing up…blech.) My apologies for the bump in the road.**

**As always, thank you so much for the reviews for last chapter!**

**~ Angie**

* * *

An hour later, Penelope was touching up her make up when her cell phone started ringing. She put the mascara wand down beside the sink, and made her way to the nightstand beside her bed. She scowled when she saw the caller ID. _Derek. _He was probably calling to make her jealous. Well, she had news for him! "Hello?" she practically snapped.

"Hey," Derek said carefully. "What's up?"

"You tell me," she returned. "Where are you?"

"We're in the hotel," he answered.

"What about your night on the town?" she asked, trying to force her composure. _He'd _been thinking about a bachelor party, and _she'd_ been thinking about sex—they were on two completely different wavelengths. She had to remind herself that it wasn't _his_ fault she was so freakin' horny.

"Oh, we're going out on the town," Derek said dryly. "But that's _after _Reid gets the 'groom' decal ironed onto his new t-shirt."

Penelope paused for a moment. "Are you…kidding?" she asked.

"Sadly…no," he told her.

"I…well, I suppose this is what you get," she taunted in a sing-song tone of voice.

"What do you mean 'this is what I get?'" he asked in confusion.

"For jumping on the opportunity to spend the night away from me," she said petulantly. She knew she was being ridiculous, but she couldn't help it. They'd just decided they were _together, _and she'd rather hoped that was how they'd be spending the night. Apparently he had other ideas.

"Are you…?" Derek's words faltered. "Is my girl…jealous?" he asked.

"Were you _trying_ to make me jealous?" she shot back, her insides warming despite her tone. He'd just called her his girl…and she liked it.

"No," he answered decisively. "I'm not going to purposely try to make you jealous. You could have any guy you want, Penelope. At this point, the goal is to keep you."

Penelope couldn't help but grin. "You think I could have any guy I want?" she asked.

"Darlin'," Derek said in his deep timbre. "I _know_ you could."

"Oh, my," she said throatily.

"What?"

She sighed heavily. "When you get back to my room tonight, you are going to get so…damn…lucky."

Derek chuckled. "Like you could've kept your hands off me anyway."

"Is that a challenge?" she teased.

"God, no," he assured her quickly. "I don't want to risk not having you tonight. Gotta go, Babe. If I start funneling shots down Reid's throat right now, I figure I can be back in an hour or so."

"Be good to him, Derek," she warned with a giggle.

"I'll do my best. I love you," he said as he hung up the phone.

Penelope's eyes widened and she gasped as she threw her phone on the bed. Well! She certainly hadn't expected _that._

* * *

"He said _what_?" Emily hissed.

"Right?" Penelope exclaimed. "There is _no_ way that he loves me. He couldn't! He doesn't even _know_ me well enough to love me!"

"That's true," Emily mused. "And the way you've treated him certainly wouldn't elicit such an emotion."

"Hey!" Penelope said, socking her friend on the arm.

"I'm just trying to be logical," Emily explained.

"Oh? By marrying a guy you've been dating for…_what_? A week? Real logical, Emily," Penelope said impatiently.

"It's been longer than that," Emily muttered.

Penelope sighed as she flopped down on her friend's bed. "I know," she conceded. "I'm just…being a bitch because I'm freaking. I'm sorry." Penelope sighed. "It wasn't that long ago that the only person I thought Derek Morgan could love was himself."

Emily laughed. "Well, you weren't alone in that assumption," she assured her friend. "It seems that SSA Morgan is turning over a new leaf."

"Do I have to say it back?" Penelope asked worriedly, refusing to let her friend change the subject. "I mean—one person says I love you…they usually expect to hear it back!"

Emily shook her head. "I don't know the rules, Penelope," she said.

"Well…what _do_ you know?" Penelope asked.

Emily gave her friend a stern glare.

"Aaaand…out pops my second apology. I'm sorry," Penelope said with a frown.

Emily sighed. "Hey, no. I understand. I mean…Derek Morgan just declared his love for you. I'd be weirded out, too." She plopped down onto the bed next to her friend. "The first time Reid told me he loved me…_I_ sort of freaked," she admitted.

"You did?" Penelope asked doubtfully.

Emily nodded. "Yep. Of course, me…when I freak? I get quiet. And he knew."

"Was he mad?" Penelope asked.

Emily shook her head. "Not at all. He said he knew I wasn't ready to say it, and he wanted me to wait until I meant it. Of course, _he _knew I loved him. It just took _me_ a little while to catch on. Don't you remember my meltdown in Georgia when he was taken by Hankle?"

Penelope nodded. "Yes. You regretted not saying it when you had the chance," she said softly.

"Yes. _And_ because it was true. Don't say it because you think he expects to hear it. He'll know if you don't mean it," Emily warned. "I mean…Reid can hardly pick up on social cues but _he_ knew I wasn't ready to say it. Derek? He's like a dog with a bone…he knows exactly where it's at."

Penelope sighed. "God, I hope he still comes to my room tonight."

"And _in_ it," Emily said with a shameless grin.

Penelope nudged her friend with her shoulder. "You slut!"

"Hello!" JJ's voice interrupted them from the other side of the door just before she started pounding on it.

"What the hell?" Emily asked as she jumped up off the mattress and hauled the door open. "_What _are you doing?" she asked as she stepped aside.

"Getting ready for tonight!" JJ said cheerfully, taking a swig off the open bottle of tequila in her hand.

"We're going dress shopping," Emily reminded her patiently, seizing the bottle and pulling it away from her.

JJ shook her head. "Change of plans."

"Jayje—"

"Emily, _please!_" her friend begged urgently. "Will and I just decided to try for another baby. Do you know what that means?"

Emily's eyes lit up. "Lots of sex?"

JJ shook her head. "No—well, yes. But it also means ten months of no drinking…followed by yet another year of no drinking _whilst_ I breast feed."

"Jayje, if you don't want another baby—"

"I want another baby," she said quickly. "I just…want to precede it with a night of no-holds-barred, dancing on the speakers, chasing my tequila shot with a beer…_fun_!" JJ stopped and put her best pout on—the one that always seemed to work with Will. "You aren't going to deny me that, are you, Emily?"

Emily thought about it for a moment before she sighed. "Just let me change."

"Yay!" Penelope said as Emily walked into the bathroom.

"So, what's your poison?" JJ asked in amusement as she turned to Penelope.

"Lately?" Penelope returned. "Derek Morgan."

JJ's eyes widened. "What?"

Penelope groaned. "Don't ask."


	26. Chapter 25

**Hey, guys! My apologies for the delay in posting. I am still without computer! Thank you all for the reviews for last chapter, and I hope you enjoy this one as much!**

**~ Angie**

* * *

"I'm sorry," an incredibly intoxicated JJ announced a little later. "But I've tried it your way, Garcia. And it's just not working for me. I need to know. I'm _asking. _What's going on with you and Morgan?" she inquired with a hiccup.

Penelope sighed. "There's noth—"

"They're banging," Emily interrupted. "And Derek's in love with her."

JJ giggled. "Banging? That is so…college-ish."

"Hey, I'll have you know that our banging is _very_ adult!" Penelope argued.

"Not the action," JJ clarified. "The _word_. Banging," she said with a sigh, and then giggled again.

Penelope rolled her eyes. "Don't you think it's time to cut her off?" she snapped, turning to Emily.

Emily shook her head as she took a sip of her rum and coke. "Nope. Not until she's doing _that,_" she said in amusement, her gaze going to the dance floor where there was a woman dancing in her bra and jeans.

"Only in Vegas," Penelope muttered. "At this rate, she'll never be cut off. JJ wouldn't be caught _dead_ in her bra in a public place."

Both girls turned to look at their friend as she sighed. "Is it just me, or is it hot in here?" she asked, pulling her shirt away from her sticky body in an attempt to cool herself off.

Emily looked at Penelope and grinned. "Never say never."

* * *

"You said _what?_" Hotch asked incredulously.

"You heard me," Derek said. "Did I ruin everything?"

Hotch shrugged. "Beats me. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that you guys are together." He gave Derek a pointed look. "It wasn't so long ago the two of you were in my office and I was taking you to task."

There weren't many people who could make Derek Morgan feel ashamed, but Aaron Hotchner was one of them. "I'll admit, my actions were less than stellar," he conceded.

"I don't think it's a big deal that you told her you love her," Rossi said, returning to their former subject.

Derek gave him a dirty look. "Oh, like I'm gonna listen to you, M-cubed."

Reid frowned. "M-cubed?" he commented in confusion. "What's M-cubed?"

"Married three times," Derek said off-handedly.

"That's…actually…quite clever," Reid complimented as he sipped the last of his fruity drink.

"Thanks," Derek said as he watched his friend pull the umbrella from his glass and drink the pink liquid to the last drop, then motion to the waitress for another. He had to admit, he was interested to see what 'Drunk-Reid' would be like.

"Hey, that means I was able to _get_ three women to marry me," Rossi reminded the younger man. "It was once I had them everything went south. So you might want to listen to me."

"I told Emily I loved her before she was ready to say it back," Reid said, barely restraining himself from licking the rim of his glass. That last drink had been amazing! _Where __**was**__ that waitress with his next one? _he wondered as he looked around.

"Really?" Derek asked in surprise. "_You_ were the first one to cough up the 'I love you?'"

"Well, I didn't exactly 'cough it up,'" Reid argued, giving his friend his full attention. This was probably the only time in his entire life Derek would be seeking advice from him, after all. "I said it with great poise and elegance."

"You mean like a chick?" Derek asked sarcastically.

"Say what you like," Reid said smugly. "But let me ask you this: Which of us is the one getting married?"

Derek rolled his eyes. "You win this one, Kid. So…then what happened?"

Reid grinned. "The silver lining to my kidnapping. Emily walked into my hospital room, declared her undying love for yours truly and said she couldn't imagine her life without me."

"I doubt it went down _quite _like that," Rossi remarked.

Derek frowned. "You know, for someone with an eidetic memory that sounds suspiciously like rewritten history."

* * *

"Woo hoo!" JJ yelled throwing her arms in the air as the trio of women trekked along the Vegas strip.

They heard a chorus of 'woo hoos' from a passing car full of men and Emily grinned as one of them stuck his head out of the window and proceeded to yell slightly slurred compliments at them.

Penelope's eyes widened as she looked at Emily. "Seriously?" she hissed.

"Look, just because your panties are in a bunch over Morgan confessing his undying love for you doesn't mean the rest of us can't have a good time," Emily teased.

"It wasn't _undying_," Penelope muttered.

"Will is gonna be so mad at me," JJ said, changing the subject.

"Why's that?" Emily asked.

JJ sighed dramatically. "Because he's never seen me so drunk!" she informed them. "But…that's because he didn't see me in college! That's right," she continued animatedly. "I was quite the party girl at the University of Pittsburgh!"

"I'll bet you were," Penelope said in a forced tone. She was well aware that she was being a killjoy, and she wanted to snap out of it; she really did. But try as she might, she just couldn't. She had a feeling the only thing that _could _swing this mood of hers back to her usual high spirits was Derek, and she wasn't quite sure _what_ to think of _that_!

"Where _is_ that handsome husband of mine?" JJ asked, looking around. "I wanna make a baby with him! Right here! Right now!" she declared loudly.

"Oh, sweet Lord in heaven," Penelope said. "We're going to be arrested for public drunkenness." People were actually staring at them, and she couldn't blame them. She was sure the three of them made quite the picture, what with her and Emily holding JJ up as she stumbled along. It was a sight _she'd_ like to see herself. "Let's go in here and sit for a minute," she suggested.

Emily agreed with a hearty nod and they walked into the nearest casino. They led their friend to the packed bar and managed to find an empty booth, strategically seating JJ first so Penelope blocked her in. She was much easier to keep track of that way. Penelope had never seen the woman drink so much! Will wasn't the only one who'd never witnessed this side of his wife.

A waitress appeared almost immediately to take their order, and Emily and Penelope ordered drinks for themselves and a water and coffee for JJ. "Some bachelorette party, huh?" Penelope asked.

"Hey, _I'm_ having fun," Emily said. "I just wish Reid was here to see JJ so drunk. He'd really get a kick out of this." She wrinkled her nose. "I just feel bad for sending him off with the guys. Bars aren't really his thing. He's probably stone sober and bored out of his mind—"

"There's my girl!"

Emily turned in surprise just in time for Reid to plant a smacking kiss on her lips.

"I love ya, Em," he slurred.

Emily's eyes widened and she looked over at Penelope. Apparently the dark cloud that had been looming over her friend's head all night was gone, because she was wearing a broad grin on her face. "You were saying?" she taunted.


	27. Chapter 26

_A/N: Thank you all for the reviews for the last chapter!_

Emily stood up and looked her fiancé up and down. "Reid?" she said in shock.

He sighed dramatically. "You know I like it when you call me Spencer," he reminded her. "It makes me har—"

"Oooookay," Emily quickly interrupted, clamping a hand over her fiancé's mouth. "That's…enough of that."

"And guess what?" Reid asked loudly, prying her hand away from his lips.

"What?" Emily asked, amusement setting in now that the shock of seeing Reid so intoxicated was wearing off. The white t-shirt he was wearing with the word 'Groom' emblazoned across his chest was absolutely adorable and so very him.

He lowered his voice to what any drunk person thought was a whisper. "Derek dropped the 'I love you' bomb and—"

Thankfully, Will and Derek chose that moment to approach the table and JJ squealed at the sight of her husband, drowning out whatever Reid was going to follow that up with. "There's the gorgeous man I'm gonna make a baby with!" JJ announced loudly, and before Penelope could slide out of her spot to let her friend pass, JJ was standing beside her in the booth, stepping, or more accurately, stumbling over her hips. Penelope shrunk back in the booth so her friend could pass.

"Whoa," Will said, seizing his wife by her hips and lowering her to the floor. "How ya doin', honey?" he asked gently, an amused gleam in his eyes.

"Well," she said with a giggle. "I'm excited to see you. I'm drunk. You know what _that_ means."

Will stared at her for a moment, his eyes widening. "We'll ahh…we'll see you all back at the hotel," he said, wrapping an arm around his wife and escorting her to the exit.

"We're gonna dance," Emily said, taking Reid's hand and leading him towards the throng of people in the center of the room. God only knew what he was going to say next!

"Hey," Derek said coolly, sitting down across from Penelope.

"Hey," Penelope returned. "You guys having fun?"

"Oh, yeah," Derek said dryly. "There's nothing better than babysitting a drunken Reid during his bachelor party."

Penelope laughed, but couldn't deny that a part of her was tickled pink. Derek was out. At a bar. And he wasn't having a good time. She could have squealed in delight but refrained. "Do you want a drink?" she asked as a waitress passed their table.

Derek shook his head.

"Suit yourself," Penelope said, taking a sip of her own.

"So…I made a decision tonight," he informed her.

"Yeah?" she asked as she placed the bottle back on the table. "What's that?"

"I'm never walking into a hotel restaurant on my own again."

Penelope tilted her head to the side. "O…k?" she said in bewilderment. There was a bit of a challenge in his voice, and she had the feeling she was missing something.

"From now on, when we go somewhere together, we go there _together,_" he said fervently.

"Ooooh," Penelope said as his words dawned on her. He was mad that she'd made him go down to the dining room five minutes before she had when they'd had dinner with the rest of the team. "And no. We don't."

"You're not in control of this thing, Baby Girl," he said sharply.

"Then there is no 'thing,'" she hissed.

He sat there for a moment studying her face. "Aren't you tired of fucking around?" he asked.

She lifted an eyebrow at him. "Oh, no," she said in a teasing tone, trying to distract him with desire. "In fact…I see _lots_ of fucking around in our future."

"I'm not going to argue with that," he told her. "But I want more. And I want people to know about us."

"No," she hissed vehemently. "Derek, I have worked long and hard at this job to keep the reputation that I have."

"Reputation?" he asked caustically. "Just weeks ago we were in Hotch's office because of our _reputations,_" he reminded her.

"Look, I didn't say it was stellar. But I don't want to be known as one of your conquests, Derek. The list is long and certainly not distinguished. I can't be just another girl at the office who fell at your feet," she insisted.

"You're arguing my point exactly!" Derek insisted. "I don't want you to be 'just another girl.' I want you to be _the _girl—woman," he corrected quickly. "I want people to know about us because I care about you, Penelope. Not because I want to ruin your reputation."

"I'm not ready for that," she said, shaking her head.

"Well, it's too damn late," he said triumphantly. "I already told the guys about us."

Penelope's jaw dropped in disbelief. "I can't believe you did that!"

"Oh, come on. You can't tell me Emily and JJ don't know about us!"

"That is entirely different," she said defending herself.

"How?" he wanted to know.

"It was girl talk! I wasn't bragging," she said.

"I wasn't, either," Derek said.

"So what are you saying? You want to get married in Vegas?" she asked, trying to put a little bit of fear into him. She knew he wasn't saying that, but sweet Lord, an 'I love you' followed up with 'I want more' all in one night. This was just too much!

"I'm saying it doesn't scare me," he shot back.

"Oh, my God," she said, standing hastily.

"Wha—we're not done talking," Derek said, springing to his own feet. "Where are you going?"

"I need some air," she said as she began walking toward the exit.

* * *

_Uh-oh, _Emily thought as she watched Penelope storm off towards the exit of the club they'd stumbled upon by accident—this certainly couldn't be classified as fate. Not with the tension she was witnessing between Penelope and Derek from her place on the dance floor halfway the way across the room.

"Em, I don't think we should dance anymore," Reid suddenly said as he stilled.

"Why not?" she asked distractedly.

"Because…," he said miserably. "My head is spinning worse than that disco ball up there and—" It was then that Emily's fiancé threw up on her shoes. She groaned.

This night was not going _at all_ as planned.


	28. Chapter 27

Penelope was sitting on the bed in her hotel room by the time Derek walked in at 2 a.m. He'd traipsed around the city for a while, trying to clear his head. He knew he wanted her; knew it was time to lay it all out on the line. But his fear was that she'd cut and run, and no matter how many steps he took, he couldn't shake the thought. But the fact of the matter was…it was now or never.

She didn't acknowledge him as he sat down beside her on the bed.

"Penel—"

"Sssh!" she scolded, pointing to the television. "They're re-airing this week's episode of _Hell's Kitchen_ and I didn't get to see it."

Derek kicked his boots off and moved fully onto the bed so he was sitting next to her. He'd never seen the show before, but had to admit it was quite entertaining to watch people argue over sea bass. When it finally went to commercial, she turned to him. "I've never been in a serious relationship before," she told him, cutting right to the chase.

"I'm not asking you to marry me," he said.

She nodded. "I know. You're asking for exclusivity."

Derek. "Yeah," he confirmed.

She sighed, grabbing the pillow behind her and placing it on her lap, her hands running slowly back and forth over it. Derek had to hold back a grin. She was trying to put space in between them, and she didn't even know it. "But you're asking me to be exclusive with a man who…has probably never even been exclusive with anyone in his whole entire life!"

He shrugged. "Oh, well. According to you, you've never been exclusive with anyone before. I'm willing to give it a go."

"But I'm not known for bringing home a different woman every weekend," she reminded him.

Derek grinned. "If that was the case, I don't think we'd be having this conversation," he teased.

"See? You can't even take this seriously," she pointed out.

"That is not true," he said. "I'm taking this conversation very seriously—"

"Sssh!" she commanded. "It's back on."

They sat there in silence again listening to the British dude cuss out the two teams. It seemed like forever before it finally went to commercial.

"You can't even stop grinning!" she continued.

"That's because I'm trying to put you at ease about this conversation. Believe it or not, Baby Girl—and I'm pretty sure you can—I'm not skilled on this topic. Has it occurred to you that I might be nervous?"

"Oh, really?" she asked, arching a brow. "An hour ago you were ready to marry me."

"No," he corrected. "I said I wasn't scared of the thought. I'm not ready to walk that plank yet."

"'Walk that plank?'" Penelope asked. "Wow. It's every woman's dream to have her boyfriend refer to marriage as 'walking the plank.'"

Derek grinned. She'd just referred to him as her boyfriend, but he didn't think this was the time to point it out. "I didn't mean it like that. But it's true—either way, you only get to do each of them once."

"Unless you end up divorce," she muttered.

"Uh-uh," Derek said. "Bite your damn tongue, Woman. I'll be getting married just the once."

"And if doesn't work out?" she insisted.

"It'll work out," he said.

"How do you know it'll work out?" she pressed.

He shrugged. "Because it has to."

"But—" When her program came back on, she picked up the remote and muted the television. A good sign. At least she was willing to listen to what he had to say.

"Don't you think that's a little naïve?" she asked. "Things will work out because 'they have to?'"

"If you met my family, Garcia, you'd understand. The Morgan's do _not_ take marriage lightly."

"Derek—"

"My father had eleven brothers and sisters, Garcia. Do you know how many of them got married?" he asked.

She shook her head.

"Every single one of them. Do you know how many got divorced?"

She sat there awaiting his answer.

"Not a one. The Morgan's don't do divorce, Garcia. We do marriage. Good times and bad. Rough and tough, we work through it," he said passionately.

Penelope couldn't help but think how telling his choice of words were. She was glad he hadn't phrased it as 'stick it out,' and she was both surprised and pleased by this candor she'd never witnessed from him before. Penelope Garcia had a feeling it was time to throw everything she thought she knew about Derek Morgan out the window.

"But I'll tell you one thing, Penelope," he went on. "I won't date you behind closed doors. You _won't_ be my secret. How are you ever supposed to believe I'm serious about you if I agree to that?" With a sigh, he leaned forward on his knuckles and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. "So…sleep on it and let me know what you decide." He moved to the edge of the mattress, retrieved his boots and headed for the door.

But she never let him make it that far. Maybe she was crazy, but she believed him. Maybe it was because she wanted so badly to believe him, but it didn't matter. She couldn't let him walk out of her hotel room. She caught his wrist and halted him, then moved to stand before him. She smiled tenderly at him. "I don't need to sleep on it," she said softly.

"OK," he said cautiously.

She grinned up at him, taking a step forward and resting her hands on his biceps. "But do you know what I _do_ need?" she asked as she blinked, her fingertips stroking his skin.

"What?" he asked his voice thick.

She giggled. "To see who got cut from _Hell's_ _Kitchen_ this week!" She grabbed his hand and tugged him back to the bed.

"And then _we _can get cookin'?" he asked hopefully.

She grinned saucily at him. "Absolutely." There was a short pause. "Hey…how did you get into my room?" she asked as if she'd just realized it.

"I flashed my…" He grinned under her glare. "Badge, Baby Girl. I flashed my badge at the front desk clerk."

Penelope moved closer to him on the mattress, resting her head on his chest with a sigh. "I'm glad you flashed the front desk clerk."

"Me, too, Baby Girl," he returned as he tightened his hold on her.


End file.
